


what's up, danger?

by evotter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Eventual relationship, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Pining, Slow Burn, So plz read, Yahoo, but with a twist, if u like superheroes and if u like jily, ive worked my booty off on this and for once i am actually proud of what ive written!!, kind of, the spiderman au nobody asked for!!!, well u have come to the right place
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-19 14:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17603054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evotter/pseuds/evotter
Summary: “I’m here to work out a partnership.” She tells him, taking a step closer to him. He can see his reflection in her spider eyes. “I’ve seen your work. And something has been—getting at me, lately, making me feel like something is coming. Not that I don’t doubt your abilities, but you’re going to need all the help you can get. So I’m staying, Spider-Man, and if you don’t like it, you’ll have to learn to.”in which with great power comes great responsibility.and: James is not the only web-slinging superhero anymore.





	1. sunflower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some things you just can't refuse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i asked and y'all answered so !!!!!! here you go! please enjoy chapter 1 :')
> 
> btw: each chapter has a different title based off the into the spider verse soundtrack. i strongly advise listening to each song (cause this soundtrack is BOMB), especially during the chapter as u read, if you're able.
> 
> song for the summary & chapter title [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXWYDeGhe24).

“You won’t believe this,” says Sirius, standing with his arms crossed as James makes his way into their hideaway. “Can you guess what I’m about to tell you? Never in a million _years_ could you ever guess what I’m about to tell you.”

“Thank you for answering the question you asked me,” says James cheerfully, adjusting his glasses as Sirius only looks more irritated. “What’s going on?”

“Have you seen the news?” Sirius demands, hands in the air, turning to the computer screens. “Or are you blind?”

James blinks at him. “I am,” he says, gesturing to his glasses. “Blind, that is.”

“I’m serious.”

“Good for you. You know your own name.”

Sirius looks back at James with an incredulous expression. “Here,” he says, and presses a button on the watch on his wrist. The computer screens come to live with the most recent newsfeed. “What is this person doing? More importantly, who is this person?”

“You ask me questions like you think I know the answer.” James says, frowning at the television screen. Usually James is the web-slinging hero patrolling the streets, but according to the broadcast, he’s...not alone.

This new hero, whoever he or she is, has a costume that looks like his, in a way, with pink webbing underneath their (her? James assumes it’s a her, probably) arms and in the underlining of the hood (which is _such_ a cool idea, but he’d never say it). Instead of his blue and red ensemble, this vigilante has not only pink but he can pick out grey in the video feed. And the eyes on the mask look just like James’s. He doesn’t know whether to be flattered or insulted.

Sirius is the latter. James is kind of leaning toward the former.

“What does it matter, anyway?” James, for some weird reason, can’t stop watching the news reel of this person swinging from building to building. “Look, I’ll go on patrol tonight. Maybe this person will be there. And maybe I can get some answers.”

But if the past eighteen years have been any indication, life doesn’t really work out for James in that way, does it?

\---

James crouches on the roof of the bank three hours past sunset and peers out at the city.

 _“Any sign?”_ Sirius’s voice crackles in his ear. He’s been meaning to take a look at the comms, because recently the signal has been shit and that’s never useful when Sirius is watching nearby security cameras or tracking police cars.

Not that James is a _vigilante_ , per say. He’s done enough for this city that the police have let him be. But that doesn’t mean he likes them being around while he’s doing this thing.

“None,” he says.

“ _Man_ , do you know how easy it would be for me to kill you right now?”

James whips around. If he couldn’t stick to pretty much any surface he wanted to, he probably would have toppled off the edge of the building in shock.

 _“James?”_ Sirius demands in his ear. _“What the hell was that?”_

“Uh.” James says, mouth suddenly dry. He feels like he’s looking in a much shorter, much more feminine mirror. He’d make a comment to her face about copying his suit straight up, but he’s too intrigued to find the words. “Who—who are you?”

“I’m the Ghost Spider.” she answers, eyes narrowing as if she’s scrutinizing him. “You can call me Ghost. And _you_ , Spider-Man, need to work on your spidey senses. Or do you not have any?”

“Spidey—of _course_ I have spidey senses!”

“I just snuck up on you. I’ve been standing behind you for a solid five minutes. You noticed nothing.”

“I was busy!”

“Doing what, exactly?”

“Er,” James says. Not that it’s embarrassing, but he usually doesn’t tell the person he was looking for that he was looking for them.

Ghost shifts her weight to one foot and crosses her arms. “If killing you was my ulterior motive, you’d be long dead by now.”

 _“James!”_ Sirius says again. _“Is that her? Have you found the copycat?”_

“Good thing that wasn’t your motive, then.” says James. He reaches up and, against his better judgement, shuts the comm off. Sirius is going to kill him for it, but James will fill him in later.

“Good thing,” she agrees.

“So what _is_ your motive?”

Ghost looks him up and down. She lowers her hood. Without it, really, her suit looks just like James’s, without the spider emblazoned on her chest. It’s more than just a blur of grey and pink; it’s a combination of white and black with the hints of pink in her hood, the inside of her upper arms, and the lining around her eyes. He wonders if it’s made out of the same materials as his. He thinks it’s probably too rude to ask. “You’re like me,” she says simply. “I needed someone like that.”

“So you’re not from around here.”

“At least you have _some_ intelligence.” Ghost muses. “No, I am not.”

“You sound like you are.”

“I was born here.” her eyes narrow slightly. “That’s all the backstory you’re getting out of me until I know I can trust you.”

“I’ll have you know I am _very_ trustworthy.” James says, putting a hand to his chest.

“Sure,” says Ghost, but she doesn’t sound convinced.

“Listen,” he tries, as she tilts her head at him. “I appreciate the, er, visit? But London doesn’t need two spiders parading around.”

“That’s cute,” she says, putting her hands on her hips. James imagines her smiling underneath the mask. “You think I’m asking.”

“This is _my_ city.”

“Oh, so your name’s on the deed, then?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I’m here to work out a partnership.” Ghost Spider tells him, taking a step closer to him. He can see his reflection in her spider eyes. “I’ve seen your work. And something has been—getting at me, lately, making me feel like something is coming. Not that I don’t doubt your abilities, but you’re going to need all the help you can get. So I’m staying, Spider-Man, and if you don’t like it, you’ll have to learn to.”

She sticks out her hand.

James studies it for a moment. Maybe his senses have been off lately. And if she’s telling the truth, about feeling like something big is coming around the corner...he wouldn’t say no to a little help. She didn’t look half bad on the television.

He’s sure Sirius would be cursing him out and telling him _no way_ if he could hear the conversation.

Which is exactly why he extends his hand and shakes hers.

“Good.” Ghost Spider says. Her hand lingers in his for just a little longer than normal. “I’ll meet you here tomorrow night, then. Same time as today.”

“Wait.” James lifts a hand to run it through his hair, before realizing he’s wearing the mask. She tilts her head again. “Shouldn’t we, like, exchange numbers, or something a little more communicative than just a rooftop rendezvous?”

“That’s no better than me just telling you my secret identity.” Ghost Spider counters.

James wouldn’t mind that, actually. “I’m going to know exactly who you are the minute I see you out of your suit.” he points out. “Spidey senses, remember? You’re like me. I’ll be able to feel it.”

“That’s _if_ you see me outside of my suit.” she retorts.

“Look,” he says, spreading his hands. “If we’re going to be partners in this, you’re going to have to trust me.”

“And I will.” Ghost Spider answers. “But forgive me if I don’t want to tell someone my secret identity upon meeting them for the first time on a bloody rooftop. Have you ever heard the saying ‘Knowledge is power’?”

“Too many times.”

“Then you should know that not knowing who I am might keep you alive longer.”

She turns away from him before James can get in another word. Somehow this whole conversation makes him feel like he’s dreaming. Maybe he is. Maybe he’s high out of his mind again and this whole night has been a hallucination.

Then he sees her shoes and is unable to stop the wide grin plastering on his face.

“Hold on,” he calls out. “Ballet slippers?”

 _Turquoise_ ones, to be exact.

Ghost Spider pauses on the opposite end of the rooftop. The sides of her mask are pinching together, like she’s smiling right back. “Tomorrow,” she calls back. “Same time.”

Then she’s gone, swinging through the air, leaving James to wonder how her white suit makes her practically invisible against the night sky.

\---

“Ghost Spider?” Sirius echoes, once James finishes telling his story of the rooftop rendezvous. “Sounds kind of dumb, if you ask me.”

“We can’t judge.” James points out. “The press called me _Spider-Boy_ for the first year of me being on the streets.”

“In our defense, we tried to get them to change it!”

“I don’t think it’s half-bad, really,” he muses, looking at the photograph of Ghost that Sirius has put on the computer screen.

“Of course _you_ don’t,” says Sirius, crossing his arms.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It _means_ you’re into her.”

“Oh, come on.”

“The only other time you’ve turned off your comms is when you saved that fit celebrity from getting hit by a car.”

“You’re absolutely full of shit, Sirius,” says James, ruffling his hair as he throws the mask on the table beside them. “I just met her. I’m not into her.”

“Uh huh.” Sirius answers, but he doesn’t sound or look convinced. “Anyway, now that the whole escapade is over, we can go back to normal, friendly-neighborhood stuff, right?”

James makes a face. “About that,” he says, reluctantly. “I’m meeting her again tomorrow night.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“Look.” James wrings his hands together. “She says something big is coming, and that’s why she reached out.”

“Are you sure she’s not lying?”

If he thinks about it, _really_ thinks about it, James can feel the same unsettlement she says she does. It’s a tiny pit in his stomach, but he can feel it growing with every second. Sirius is staring at him with the expression he’d had when James had first told him about his alter-ego. He doesn’t really know what that means.

“I trust her.” he says, very quietly.

Sirius stares at him for a moment. “Why?”

“Because she’s like me.”

Sirius is quiet. The only thing they can hear is the steady hum of the police scanner. The radio is oddly silent tonight, and James wonders if it’s because Ghost might be out there, doing the job that belongs to him. “Fine,” says Sirius. “Whatever you need to do, James, do it. I trust you. But don’t you _dare_ turn the comms off on me this time.”

James cracks a smile. That’s how he knows Sirius is really on board. “Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as i'm posting this, i am currently working on chapter 4. it'll be at least a few more days before i post the next one. i want to get chapter 4 completed first, and maybe chapter 5. idk yet; so anyway, please enjoy, the more u comment the sooner i'll update!!!!!!! love yall


	2. familia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's always trouble when they go too far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song for the summary & chapter title [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wg2phwM2mI).

As far as origin stories go, James really feels like his could be better.

He remembers tying blankets around his neck and running up and down the halls with Sirius and Remus at age five, holding random kitchen supplies and brandishing them like guns and shields and other cool things that superheroes have. He remembers Peter complaining, because they always made him the villain, and he remembers his mother shaking her head at them with a fond smile as she sat beside his father, who was always buried in some new work development, but yet always did have enough time for his son that made James feel like he wasn’t being forgotten.

But it wasn’t enough. Not to James. Not as he stands in front of his father’s grave, four years after that stupid mugging, tears in his eyes even though his heart has healed as much as it’s ever going to. He thought they’d had enough time, when he was a kid. Turns out he would have stolen a lot more, if he knew what was going to happen.

He got bitten by a radioactive spider on a field trip to a science exhibit and didn’t do anything about his superhero abilities until his father died two months later.

But it’s been four years.

“I’ve done a pretty good job at defending London, you know?” says James, kicking a loose stone at the base of his father’s tombstone, “There was that creepy guy with the wings, and then there was that one guy with the electric gloves, and there have been a lot of petty thefts I’ve taken down, but for the most part, there hadn’t been crime in a while.”

Four years and his dad’s death still hurts more than anything else he’s ever faced.

“I wish things had ended up differently.” he adds, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I wish I’d been able to save you.”

And really, that’s the one thing he’ll always regret.

\---

Today is the first anniversary of his father’s death in which the cafe is open.

Remus and Sirius are behind the counter, taking the time to clean as they reach the slow part of their afternoon. James sets a cup of tea in front of his mum and slides into the booth across from her, letting out a long breath as he rests his elbows on the table. She watches him with tired eyes and a soft smile, and when he hangs his head, she reaches forward to card her fingers through her son’s hair. “Long day, huh, darling?” Euphemia says softly.

“Long night, more like,” he says, letting his head drop onto his forearms.

“How’s my favorite vigilante doing?”

“Not too well.” James mutters. Euphemia’s hand stills in his hair. “There’s nothing for me to do anymore, but I can never sleep long enough to not patrol.”

“Oh, honey.” Euphemia ruffles his hair. “I meant the other one.”

James lets out a short laugh. “Of course you did.”

His mother keeps up with all of his nighttime crime, of course; James had actually never told her he was Spider-Man. He just came home one night after stopping a bank robbery and she had been sitting there, in Dad’s old favorite chair, and after she hit him on the head for not being the first person he told, Euphemia Potter had given her son a hug that made him feel like everything was okay.

Ghost also happens to be a particular interest of his mum’s. He’s not really sure why. She won’t tell him. It kind of drives him mad.

“So?” Euphemia prompts.

“She’s fine.” he grumbles.

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“Last night.”

“Are you seeing her tonight?”

“Dunno.”

“James,” says Euphemia, rather tiredly.

He doesn’t have to tell his mother what day it is and how he doesn’t feel like talking to anyone who isn’t her, Sirius, or Remus. She knows that. “I know.” James picks his head up and adjusts his glasses. “I just...I don’t know.”

He’s been meeting Ghost a few times in the two weeks since he’s met her. Given that she hasn’t been in London for long, he’s been showing her how to memorize the city like the back of her palm. And at the same time, James has been trying to find out as much about her as possible.

He hasn’t gotten much. Both Sirius and Ghost have laughed at him as a result. If they knew her identity, he’s pretty sure they would gang up on him all the time.

_Then you should know that not knowing who I am might keep you alive longer,_ she’d said. James had never met someone as intriguing as Ghost was.

And maybe he was a little attracted to her. But he’ll never tell Sirius that.

“You don’t have to know.” Euphemia pats her son’s hand. “It’s okay.”

James really loves his mum.

“You can do anything you put your mind to, love,” she adds. She smiles at him. “You know how proud Dad would be?”

“Pretty proud, I’d wager,” says James. His throat closes just a little.

“The proudest person on the planet.” Euphemia says. James can really see how the past four years have taken their toll on his mother; the youth in her eyes has cracks of exhaustion. Her hair is almost completely grey. She’ll never say it, but James knows she’s exhausted. He knows she misses Dad as much as he does, if not more.

He knows, and this is something he never wants to accept, that she’s probably ready to join him.

“I should get back to work.” James says, very softly. He isn’t able to look at his mother for more than a few seconds.

“Bring me more tea in an hour, then, will you?” Euphemia lets go of his hand. She smiles like she knows something James doesn’t.

“Of course.” he kisses her temple swiftly and stands up, adjusting his apron. “And a croissant, too, if they’re fresh.”

Euphemia hums in agreement. “I’ll be here if you need anything.”

James heads back behind the counter, leaving his mum at her favorite table with a book in her hands. He runs his hand through his hair as Sirius waves goodbye to another guest, closing the cash register with his hip. “Listen,” says Sirius, reaching for his half-full cup of iced coffee. “So I was doing a little experimenting, right, and I put some butterscotch flavoring in with toffee, and it was like crack. We could start doing a limited-time drink of the month, see, because I like to call myself a coffee scientist, and I could make a different drink every month. Then next year, we bring back the ones that were the most popular. It’s better for business.”

It probably is. Sirius hands him the cup of his coffee experiment, and he’s right; it’s not _crack,_ really, as Sirius described it, but it’s pretty damn good. “Okay,” says James, and Sirius’s posture relaxes. “Let’s do it.”

“Brilliant.” Sirius gestures at Remus. “He offered to do the artwork on the chalkboard.”

James looks to Remus, who offers a timid half-smirk. “Why am I not surprised?” he says, adjusting his glasses. “Whip up a rough draft. Pun unintended. What are you thinking about calling this drink?”

“Butterbeer,” says Sirius, setting the cup down. “It’s super smooth, like butter. I’d add blonde espresso to it, probably. And next month, we could do a Spider-Man themed drink. Something raspberry. Maybe chocolate.”

“I hate raspberry.” James makes a face. “I think Spider-Man would hate that.”

Sirius hums, leaning back against the counter to write something on his cup with a permanent marker. “Good thing you’re not Spider-Man, then.”

Remus rolls his eyes. “Your mask is sticking out of your bag.” he tells James, jerking his thumb to the open-doored office. “Some superhero you are.”

“You’re real witty, you know that?” James mutters, but Remus is right: the red mask is slightly poking out of his backpack. “Absolutely hilarious. You should really make a career out of that. Become a comedian.”

“Oh, sure.” Remus answers, sipping his tea for a moment before continuing. “My first and longest running bit will be how my best mate is the masked superhero that not only protects the city but is also shit at keeping his own secrets. Or do you forget how I literally _walked in_ on you?”

“You were _supposed_ to text me before you came over!”

“He did.” Sirius says helpfully. “That was the day that weird alien thing ate your phone, remember?”

“Oh.” James tousles his hair with his hands. “Right.”

Remus grins. “Exactly. Keeping a superhero identity a secret really shouldn’t be as hard as it is for you, really.”

“Oh, come off it. What do you know about having a secret identity?”

The doorbell at the entrance chimes. All three boys stand at attention, watching as a short, redheaded girl walks in. Her hair is chopped right at her shoulders and she has a small hole in her nose, like a piercing should be there but isn’t. She walks right up to the counter, where Sirius is standing, and asks, “Can I get a hot chocolate, please? Large?”

“Sure.” Sirius grabs a cup. “Any flavoring?”

“Um, peppermint, if you have?”

“We have.” he knocks the cap off his marker. “Name?”

“Lily.”

That’s when James feels it.

His body feels weird and tingly all over, starting in his head and spreading downward. He’s buzzing. Actually _buzzing_. Is this how Algernon feels when he purrs?

He swivels toward the counter before he can really process what he’s doing. The redhead, Lily, is staring right back at him, her green eyes practically glowing.

Then, she says, “Oh, shit.”

\---

As far as origin stories go, Lily’s isn’t...horrible.

When she was six, sure, her dad died. That was awful. That was when Mum packed them up and moved to Cokeworth, into the home of her now-deceased grandparents. That was when Petunia really, truly started to hate her for absolutely no reason. Mum had always said Lily was awfully understanding of death, for a six-year-old. Maybe that was why. Or maybe the stick up Petunia’s ass was just getting bigger.

She gained her powers after getting bitten by a radioactive spider she’d encountered near an abandoned facility. Immediately following the incident, she used her abilities to stop a bank robbery. Then a mugging. Then attempted murder. Then...she didn’t stop.

Lily didn’t really have a true motivator, other than knowing her father would want her to save as many people as she could. So that’s exactly what she did.

As a child, her only friend was Severus Snape, a boy whom her sister called _greasy_ and a _slimeball_ and turned up her pointy little noise at whenever the opportunity presented itself. Lily defended him wholeheartedly, of course, until they were fourteen and Lily had screamed at him in the middle of the school courtyard for being racist and homophobic and against _everything_ she stood for. She’d been _too blind_ , too busy, to see it before then and that had been her weakness. And when they were sixteen, she realized that her first defeat, the mutant Lizard, was Severus Snape deformed by mutation injections, because he’d wanted to enact his revenge on everyone in Cokeworth.

She’d never told him she was Ghost Spider. She still doesn’t know if he’d figured it out for his own. But when she killed him, she mourned the eleven-year-old version of her former best friend for a short while, and then let Petunia defile his memory as much as she pleased for the following year.

(Maybe her origin story kind of sucks more than she’d like to admit. Whatever.)

And despite it being the street in which Severus lived, it’s still funny, really, how she spent her childhood years running up and down Spinner’s End. Almost ironic. She can’t really joke about it in public, though, because she’s _really_ got her secret identity on lock.

At least...she used to. Until she walked right into the one place she shouldn’t have.

She gets her peppermint hot chocolate to go, but before she can scurry her way out of the cafe, James Potter steps in her path.

“You—you’re like me,” he says, breathless, too quiet for anyone without super-sensitive hearing to understand. “You’re—”

“Don’t.” Lily says, before she can stop herself. His brows furrow. “Don’t say it out loud. I know. I am. And you’re _him_.”

James gives the barest of nods. He looks around, wiping his hands on his apron, and clears his throat. “A booth, then,” he says, nodding toward an empty one. It’s not a question.

Lily’s not getting out of this one, is she? “Okay,” she says.

He slides into it across from her. She feels like she’s on high alert, the hairs on the back of her neck raised, legs bouncing. It’s like a caffeine high, though it’s been two months since she drank coffee and she’s hoping to go a lot further. The boy who took her order behind the counter—Sirius—is trying his hardest to not stare at them, but Lily feels like she can hear his inner argument between watching them and minding his own business.

She personally feels like he should mind his own damn business.

“So I was right,” says James, after a moment. “You’re not from around here.”

“No,” agrees Lily.

“You’re from…?”

“Just because you’ve met me doesn’t mean I owe you my life story.” she says, perhaps a little harsh. She’s wary. She’s _extremely_ wary. Lily Evans has done a very good job at keeping herself protected. She’s not about to let a reckless, bespectacled boy mess that up.

“Right.” James Potter leans back against the booth. If he’s hurt, he doesn’t show it. Lily can’t read him. She’s typically very good at reading people—but not James Potter.

“And you can’t tell me yours, either.”

“Wasn’t planning on it, Lily.” he says. “That _is_ your name, isn’t it?”

“I only have one secret identity.” she murmurs. “Lily’s my first name. Evans is my last.”

He smiles, just a little bit. “My name is James,” he says.

“I know.” Lily answers, giving a pointed look to his nametag.

“Potter.”

Like the cafe. “Oh.”

“Didn’t know that one, huh?”

She didn’t. Then again, it’s not like she does background research on the cafes she goes into—and more specifically, who owns them and if they happen to work there.

“Here’s the thing, Evans.” James says, drumming his fingers along the table. He looks as jittery as she feels. She wonders if it’s a spider thing, or if it’s just how he is as a person. “I can’t work with people I don’t trust.”

"You don’t need to know everything about someone to trust them.” Lily retorts.

“I’d prefer it.”

“I don’t go around telling people everything about me, Potter.”

“You can _trust me_ ,” he says, almost pleadingly, giving her a look she can’t decipher.

The buzzing Lily has felt since she laid eyes on James Potter fades. She feels less like a superhero in this moment and more like a normal teenager.

She can’t remember the last time she felt like a normal teenager.

“I know,” she replies. The look in his eyes fizzles into surprise. “I never said I didn’t trust you.”

“You—” says James, his mouth silently forming words. “You trust me?”

“I don’t trust a lot of people.”

“Noted.”

“ _You_ are now one of them.”

“Uh...okay.”

“So don’t screw it up.”

James swallows. He looks a little frightened. Good. It takes all Lily has in her not to smirk at him. This boy— _Spider-Man_ —is going to be her partner. He kind of already is, when they’re both in their spider suits. _Spider-Man_ is the one she trusts. James Potter...not so much. But maybe they’ll get there, in time. “Got it,” he says, raising his hand in the air. He does that a lot, when they’re on patrol; but he runs it through his hair now, and Lily realizes his hair is probably permanently unruly like a hurricane as a result. “Uh...can I ask why?”

“You’re like me.” Lily says honestly. She doesn’t really know how to say it in any simpler terms. “I don’t know anyone else like me.”

“Well,” says James, a small hint of a smile on his face. “Now you have me. We have each other.”

“Don’t get emotional on me, Potter.” Lily sips her hot chocolate and looks at him with a narrowed glance. “I don’t get attached.” _I can’t get attached._

“Who said anything about getting attached?” His grin widens. “I’ve got to get back to work, Evans, but, uh...since we know each other, now, you know, we could...maybe...exchange numbers, or something?”

She rolls her eyes. Teenage vigilante, hero of London, but still a boy. A dumb boy. “Here,” she says, slipping her phone out of her pocket. “What’s your number?”

James tells her. She stores it in her phone and texts him a spider-web emoji, just so he has her number back. “Thanks,” he says, after she hears his phone vibrate in his pocket. “I’ll see you around?”

“Around.” Lily agrees. “Bye, Potter.”

“Bye, Evans.” he answers. His hand is carding through his hair again as she turns away from him. As he does it, she realizes he’s got a tattoo on the inside of his forearm, just below his elbow: a pair of antlers. She wonders what it means.

Lily pushes the door open and walks out of the cafe, her phone in one hand and her peppermint hot chocolate in the other.

She doesn’t look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i originally wanted to keep lily’s identity a secret for pretty much the entire story, and have them know each each other as james/lily and also spiderman/ghost spider, but it didn’t work out.
> 
> the buzzing james feels when lily walks in is a reference to into the spider-verse. people who share the spider-abilities are able to sense each other, which is exactly why james and lily’s identities remaining secret to each other did not work out. also, unlike gwen, lily is not from a different universe. hence why i used part of this chapter to explain her backstory from her perspective, because i wanted you all to know where she’s coming from.
> 
> if you have any other questions, feel free to drop them in a comment. i’ll respond to any questions before the next update!


	3. invincible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> when your fear's near, you don’t wanna get closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song for the summary & chapter title [here](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjd1LnVuKLgAhVhtlkKHVmNBk8QyCkwAHoECAAQBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_V1JIjSuiR8&usg=AOvVaw1GEZ0EbS9x1O7suaVaico9).

“That was good.” James says, breathless. “Really good. Wow, Evans, you…”

“Totally and completely kicked your ass?” Lily says, spinning around to look at him. She’s smiling, in that smile that makes James’s stomach do a little flip, with her hands on her hips and her short hair hanging around her face in wet strands. They’re both completely soaked in sweat and James is flat on his ass on the training mat and _damn_ it’s been such a long time since he’s had such a good sparring partner.

“Totally and completely kicked my ass.” James agrees, and her smile widens. “Where’d you learn to fight like that?”

“London’s not the only town with crime, you know,” says Lily, giving him a look. She stretches her hand out toward him and he takes it, using her as an anchor to hoist himself onto his feet.

He tries not to focus on how their hands linger in each other’s for just a moment too long.

“Oh, really?” he returns her look with one of his own, eyebrows raised, lips curving into a smirk. “And what town is that, huh?”

Lily rolls her eyes. She does that a lot. “Git,” she says.

James’s grin feels like it’s taking up his entire face. “Prat.”

“You’re both assholes.” Sirius says, rather unhelpfully. “Come over here and look at my technological masterpieces, why don’t you?”

Still smiling, Lily turns away from James and makes her way to Sirius, where both of their suits are splayed out on the table. Much to Lily’s dismay, Sirius pretty much realized who she was the moment James did. James is pretty sure he’s coming around, though, even if he won’t admit it. Him helping her out with advancements on her suit pretty much means he likes her. “Show me what you’ve got, Black,” she says, leaning against the table.

He tosses her a water bottle. James smiles. “There you go.” Sirius says, detaching the wires from the both suits. “I added a stealth mode. I haven’t quite figured out the calibration for mirror panels, otherwise you’d have a camouflage feature that would _literally_ be fucking sick. But stealth mode heightens your senses even more; the lenses are even thinner, but the screen work is much better.”

“Cool.” Lily’s fingers ghost over her suit. “What else?”

“Added other compartments for additional web fluid.” he reaches down and presses a new button on her suit and on James’s suit. “Get this—instead of vials, I was able to condense web fluid into patches. One patch equals three vials. I don’t know how much web fluid you could ever use in one fight, but...it’s better to be prepared.”

“Mad.” James says. Sirius presses the button again and the flaps close themselves, concealing the additional web fluid.

“When one patch runs out, the next one immediately fills in. There’s no swapping or anything.” Sirius adds. He looks rather pleased with himself. “I was also thinking about adding AI personas in your hard drives, but I didn’t do that yet. I’d have to finish the system. So maybe a birthday present.”

“Shit, Black.” Lily looks impressed. More than impressed. “This is amazing. Does your mind ever shut up?”

“Nope.” Sirius says cheerfully. “Be thankful for it.”

“I’m starting to be.” she muses. She takes her suit off the table and checks the watch on her wrist. “What do you say to a little test run, huh, Potter?”

“I say you’re on.” he answers, grinning widely.

“It’s not a competition.” Sirius complains. “Be careful with those suits. I haven’t had time to make backups.”

That’s a complete lie, really. James has several backup suits. He doesn’t know if Lily has her own, though.

Lily pulls her mask on. She’s only wearing training gear, so she slips her costume on with ease and pulls the hood up. “Says you,” she tells him, her voice muffled through the fabric.

For the first time ever, James feels like he can really see her face behind the mask.

It’s quite nice.

\---

It stays nice until about two months after Ghost Spider (and Lily Evans) swings her way into James Potter’s life.

Pun intended.

London has remained as beautifully crime-free as it can. News articles come and go with Spider-Man and Ghost Spider swinging from lampposts and rooftops. Ghost Spider had been known as _Spider-Girl_  for the first two weeks of appearance and Sirius had quite literally laughed at it the entire time.

(Lily was none too pleased. James would never tell her, but it was kind of amusing.)

But really, who in their right mind would try to cause trouble when two superheroes are protecting the city? London is huge, and was barely manageable for James alone; but with Lily, the two of them can cover more than enough ground. This is what James loves, and he knows it: he’s powerful, in a good way, and thanks to him, less lives are lost.

Until he’s halfway across the city when something bursts out of the Thames.

The hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He hears the rush of the water, but over that he can hear the screams.

 _“Spider-Man!”_ Lily’s voice crackles in his ear. _“Are you seeing this?”_

“Hearing it,” he answers, running to the edge of the roof. He jumps off and shoots his hands out, webs sticking themselves to the corners of the buildings on either side of him. “I’m on my way.”

 _“Hurry up, then,”_ she answers. He can tell she’s running, or fighting something, just from the harsh breathing on her end of the comm system. _“We’ve got—oh, shit!”_

“Ghost?” James has to admit, it’s hard remembering that he’s got to call her by her superhero persona when they’re in the suits. He’s slipped up a couple of times, but thankfully they were alone; the only thing he’d worried about in those instances were how badly her punches were going to bruise. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

 _“Her comm’s out,”_ says Sirius. _“Line’s gone dead. I can’t—can’t hear her. Let me pull up security cameras in the area—”_

“Don’t bother.” James is already there. There’s water everywhere; any cars within a five mile radius have been overturned and filled with water. There are people running and screaming all over the place. He can barely gather his thoughts.

Then he sees her.

Her _body,_ really. Lily Evans is lifeless with the stream of water wrapped around her torso, tight like a rope. Her head is lolled forward; she’s unconscious and soaking wet and in the middle of the Thames.

“Ghost!” James swings onto the top of a streetlight and holds on for dear life. In front of her, in the middle of the river, is a man dressed in dark clothing, wearing a misshapen mask and—

Oh. Oh, no. That’s just his face. He’s _just_ that ugly.

“Sirius,” says James. “I need—I need something. Anything. I don’t know.”

 _“Hold on. I’m tapping into your camera.”_ There’s one embedded in the spider emblazoned on his chest. There’s another minute of silence, and then Sirius swears, so loudly that James almost falls off the lamppost.

“How do I get her out of there without killing us both?” James demands.

 _“I don’t know.”_ Sirius admits. _“Uh, you can swim, can’t you?”_

“Are you proposing I launch myself into the fucking _Thames?”_

_“What other options do you have, mate?”_

“That’s why I’m asking you!”

 _“Man, we need to install guns in your suit or some shit,”_ mutters Sirius. _“That guy I see—is he standing_ on _the water?”_

It looks like it. James squints. There’s tendrils of water wrapped around his ankles, keeping him upwards. He seems to be floating on it. James has no idea how, but this mystery guy must be controlling water. That means he’s some sort of mutant, isn’t he? Maybe bitten by a radioactive fish. Who knows. “Yeah. Touching the water, physically.”

 _“Okay.”_ Sirius takes a deep breath. _“Listen to me, then. You’ve got to get Evans out of there. There’s something in your suit I’m trying to unlock—a whole new system of webs—I have one that produces electricity. If this works, you can electrocute the entire river. Fry the shit out of this guy.”_

James’s heart stalls in his chest. “I don’t know if I can get her out of there and back before doing it.”

_“How close is she to the bridge?”_

“Not very.” He weighs the distance. Probably a long jump away, if he can somehow propel himself off another surface midway. He can get to Lily if he judges the distance right, no problem.

 _“James.”_ Sirius says, and his voice is very quiet. _“We don’t have any other options.”_

James takes a deep breath. He can do this. He’s got this.

He jumps to the roof beside him and backs all the way up. The water is wrapping itself around her torso, up around her neck, creeping up. It looks like it’s squeezing her. Her body gives an involuntary jerk.

Now or never, he supposes.

James takes a deep breath. Then he takes off running.

He’s not a slow runner but this is the fastest he’s ever gone in his life. It’s kind of amazing that he hasn’t tripped by now. He keeps running, one foot in front of the other, and launches himself off the edge of the building.

He shoots a web off the lamppost in front of him and propels into the air, raising himself higher, higher, arms outstretched for Lily’s body—

And his hand closes around hers and he _pulls._

It’s easy to pull her out of the grip of the water; she slides out and he cradles her body in his arms, his foot landing on something solid beneath them. “Good,” James breathes. “Okay. Good. Now to get you—”

His foot can’t move.

_He can’t move._

“Shit!” James looks down. The water has found a new target: his leg. He twists. Ugly guy is sneering at him, his hand tightening into a fist. He’s going to die. He’s going to die, Lily’s going to die, who the _fuck_ is this guy—

 _“Use a web, dumbass!”_ Sirius snaps.

He’d almost forgotten about his best friend in his ear. James aims his hand at the villain’s face and _fires._ He’s really glad he’s gotten better at his aim, because the web detaches from his wrist and shoots the villain in the middle of the face.

Ugly cries out. In his pain, the water loosens around James’s foot. It’s still solid enough for him to have a good footing; he crouches, Lily still in his arms, and jumps as high as he possibly can. He adjusts Lily, using one arm to hold her securely around the waist, and uses the other to stretch toward one of the stanchions of the bridge. He’s so close. _So_ close.

He really hopes they don’t die.

Another web shoots out from his wrist and it fastens itself to the side of the bottom of the bridge. James slides underneath it, surfing the top of the water, and uses another web to swing them up onto the ledge beside the road.

“We’re good.” James breathes, touching his ear with his glove. “Are you ready?”

 _“I’m ready.”_ Sirius says. _“Hit it!”_

“Hope you like your fish fried!” James cries out. He aims at the water and fires another web, letting it fall all the way down to the water, watching as it lights up with electricity as it hits the surface.

The entire Thames is alight with electricity. James turns his head to see the villain convulse, his pillars of water dropping back into the electrocuted water. He falls, too, just as the river returns to normal, but no fall that high should be survivable.

James hopes.

 _“Did you get him?”_ Sirius demands. _“Are you alive?”_

“Yeah.” James croaks, chest heaving, barely managing to stay on his feet. He wants to sleep for a full day. “I’m alive. So is she.”

 _“Good.”_ Sirius exhales. _“Then I can tell you to_ please _stop trying to be funny in the middle of a battle.”_

James laughs despite himself. “It’s comedic relief.”

_“It’s cringy from where I’m sitting.”_

“Let me have this one thing.”

_“Nah, mate. Can’t do that.”_

James shakes his head. Beside him, Lily starts to move of her own accord, just a little bit. “Have you got the first aid set up?”

_“‘Course. Always.”_

“We’re headed your way.” James gathers her in his arms again. “Ghost got hit pretty bad.”

 _“Shit.”_ Sirius says softly. _“Okay. I’ll be ready when you get here. Also, I’ve already texted your mum. Just so she knows you’re safe.”_

“You’re a true best friend, you know that?”

_“Of course I do. I’ve only been trying to tell you that for years.”_

James snorts. He’s barely got strength left, but he manages to swing himself off the bridge. They’re not that far from his house. He can make it. “I take it back. Git.”

Sirius laughs. _“Note to self,”_ he says, but it’s not really a note to self since James can hear him, _“make those camouflage panels waterproof.”_

\---

“That’s something I forgot to mention.” Sirius tells James, as the masked hero carries Lily to the medical table and sets her down gently. “The bluetooth activation system. If something in your suit doesn’t work, I can fix it wirelessly.”

“You also forgot to mention the different webs.” James gives him a look.

Sirius gins sheepishly. “Those are gonna take a lot of training, and, to be honest, I didn’t really think it was going to work.”

“You didn’t think it was going to _work?”_

“I didn’t want to say anything!”

“I’m going to kill you.” James says, matter-of-factly. “Really, truly, honestly, kick your ass.”

“I want in,” says Lily, very weakly.

Both boys turn to look at her. James reaches forward and lifts her mask off, taking in her face like a breath of fresh air; she looks fine, no cuts or bruises—

Except for the one staining her neck like a coil.

“Hey.” James says softly. Sirius takes a step back. “Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt? Let me get you painkillers—”

“Piss off.” Lily answers, but it’s affectionate. She manages to get herself into a sitting position, her hand curling into a fist as she does so. James can tell it’s taking a lot for her, but he says nothing. Lily pushes her wet hair back from her face and adds, “I’m okay. I’ll be okay. Just a little beaten up.”

James’s eyes can’t stop drifting to the curved bruise on her neck. “I should have gotten there sooner.”

“If he was able to kick my ass, he would have kicked yours.” Lily answers. She peels her torso out of the suit, leaving her in her training tank top, and ties her sleeves around her waist. It’s funny looking, but she looks more comfortable than she did minutes ago.

“Well, James kind of _did_ kick his ass.” Sirius says quietly. “That’s how you both got out of there.”

Lily blinks. “Really?”

“Web to the face.” James says, shaking his head. “Nothing really important.”

“I’ve never seen you jump that far.” Sirius corrects.

“We have different types of webbing that Sirius didn’t tell us about,” says James, accusingly. “Like—an electricity web. That’s how I got Ugly to drown.”

“Stop it.” Lily says, rolling her eyes. “You probably did amazing. I wish I was conscious to see it.”

“I have bodycam video feed,” says Sirius helpfully.

Lily pushes her hair back again and leans back on the arm that isn’t resting in her lap. “Guess I’ll have to keep teasing you about how shitty your skills are.”

James runs his hand through his hair. “Guess so,” he says.

“His name’s not Ugly, though.” Lily adds, looking from James to Sirius with a solemn expression. “It’s Voldemort.”

“What kind of a name is Voldemort?” Sirius inquires.

“Dunno. He just kind of screamed it at me when he was shoving me into the water.” she lifts a shoulder in response. “But that shit he did in the water—that was all him. He could control it.”

A pit settles itself in James’s stomach. “You sound like you’ve met him before.”

“Nah.” Lily answers. She looks down, studying her hand in her lap. “But that feeling I was talking about, how something big is coming—I think that’s it. I think that’s him.”

James was very, _very_ afraid of that. “Well,” he says, mouth dry, “good thing we have plenty of webbing that Sirius didn’t tell us about.”

“I need to work on that camouflage.” Sirius says, more to himself. “Maybe web gliders, maybe—”

He walks away before James can say anything to him. That’s how James knows Sirius is pretty worried, though, because he makes a beeline for his computer and begins typing away, his hands flying a mile a minute.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” James asks, turning back to Lily.

Lily gives him a scrutinizing look. “Are _you?”_

He’s very, very tired. Exhausted. He feels like he was electrocuted by his own taser web. “I’m fine,” he says.

“You’re a shit liar, Potter.” And she uses a web to pull the nearest chair closer to them. It knocks James off his feet and he collapses into the chair before he can really process what’s happening. As a result, he has to crane his neck to look up at her. An amusing turn of events. “You did good today. Thank you for saving my ass.”

“Yeah, well.” James says. His ears feel warm. “You’d do the same for me.”

Lily’s silence gives him the only answer he needs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> currently working on the next chapter. i'll update in a few days. comments are very appreciated!!


	4. start a riot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> every hero needs his theme song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song for the summary & chapter title [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2QUFEy4KFM).

James would rather get his ass kicked by robbers than go back to school.

It’s been wonderful, having two weeks of holiday over the start of the new year. He’s been working on the different webs he’s been equipped with, sparring with Lily in his free time, and kicking the asses of criminals all over the city.

(He yelled, “Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!” to one particularly disgusting guy and Sirius duct-taped his mouth shut for three hours. Still worth it.)

But school is back in full swing, and James hates it, because it makes him feel like he’s really normal, and it’s such a boring routine that he constantly feels agitated. He’s tired of it already and he’s only halfway through his first day; even Sirius constantly at his side hasn’t really been doing much for his morale. He likes to think school is hindering to his mental wellbeing. He wonders if he could complain to the school counselor and if it would mean anything.

“Hey, Potter. Earth to Potter.”

James blinks. Lily is standing in front of him, arms crossed, looking both irritated and amused at the same time. “Finally,” she says. “I’ve been saying your name for like, two minutes.”

“Sorry.” James runs a hand over his face. “Tired. Bored.”

“Tell me about it.” she sighs. “I can’t stop fidgeting. Mary keeps making pointed noises to try and get me to stop. I feel like I’ve had four cups of coffee, and—”

“You don’t even drink caffeine.” James finishes for her in agreement. “I know. I just...the last couple of weeks were really nice, you know?”

“I know,” says Lily, tucking her hair back behind her ear. She’s cut it a little shorter, he notices. “And with everything kind of looming over our heads, sitting in a desk all day and learning boring, useless information is kind of...torture.”

“Yeah.” James exhales. “I want to take a nap. And permanently live in my suit. Oi, if they knew who we were, d’you think we’d be granted educational immunity?”

“Probably not.” she mutters. “They’d, like, make us take additional courses on safety, probably. And also, we might be sent to jail.”

“What? We’re loved by everyone.”

“That doesn’t mean what we’re doing is _legal,”_ she points out. “There are a lot of places in the world that frown upon superheroes. Just because London doesn’t—”

“Okay, I suddenly don’t really want to talk about this.” James puts his hands up. He feels oddly cold all over. “I should get to class.”

“Right.” Lily looks a little baffled. Maybe disappointed? “Do you want to meet after class?”

“Can’t,” he says. The word feels like sandpaper in his mouth. “Gotta work.”

“Okay.” Lily says. “Er, I’ll see you later, then. Tonight, if you’re swinging by.”

She doesn’t make puns. Ever. James is very confused. “Okay,” he says. “See you.”

\---

Lily is pretty sure her entire life is a badly written movie.

They’ve been friends for three months. They, of course, being Lily and James. In those three months, Lily has learned quite a lot about James Potter, but she hasn’t offered up much in return.

She feels kind of guilty about it, but she doesn’t really know how to tell him what she wants to say.

James makes her feel... _different._ In a good way. She likes the way he laughs. She likes the way he puts up with all of her bullshit. How he smiles at her. How he runs his hands through his hair.

She’d quite like to run her hands through his hair.

But she’s not here to fall in love with a stupid boy.

Her mother’s phone number remains uncalled in her cell phone. Lily can’t remember the last time they talked. She doesn’t really know how she feels about that, to be honest; it had not taken much convincing for her mother to let her move out to London, into the basement of Mary Macdonald’s, much to the delight of both Lily and Mary, her oldest and best friend. This way, Petunia can stay in their childhood home, whining about her upcoming wedding, Mum can stay exactly where she’s been since Dad died, coddling her oldest daughter, and Lily can be in a place where she doesn’t feel chained to the floor, doing what she loves most: kicking ass and taking names.

Maybe she should reach out. One of these days. In case something worse than the Thames Incident happens to her.

That’s what she’s labelled it; a lot of things have happened to Lily, but somehow what happened at the river affects her the most. The bruises the water had left on her skin have pretty much faded completely; they’ve been hard to hide from Mary. They would have been harder to hide from James, but he saw right through her. Saw them immediately.

He tends to always know what she’s thinking these days. She hates that. And she hates that she can’t read him as easily as he can read her.

She gets out of her last class just in time for her phone to buzz. Sirius. _Robbery around the corner from the cafe,_ it reads. _Up for it?_

Lily doesn’t respond. She shoves her phone in her pocket, zips up her backpack, and ducks into an alley.

This is what she loves. This is the only thing she’ll ever love.

It has to be.

She’s swinging out of the alley as Ghost five minutes later and presents the police with the criminals when they arrive at the scene.

\---

Things don’t stay weird for very long, thankfully. When he and Pete close up the cafe, James leaves his uniform in the office and takes off in his Spidey suit.

He loves this. He feels like he says that a lot, to Sirius and to his mum and to Lily, but he really does. Not just saving people; just the feeling of swinging through the air, flying without wings, landing on his feet (almost) every time. It took a lot out of him to finally accept who he was, in the beginning, even after his father died; James knows he’s a different person after what happened. He doesn’t really like talking about it, but he knows it’s there. Obviously, the death of his father takes a lot out of his son; but...when he could do the things he can, but he didn’t, and _then_ the bad things happened, they happened because of James.

He supposes he should have started seeing a therapist, after the fact; four years of feeling guilty over his father’s death probably isn’t healthy. What were the five stages again?

 _“I see you’re online.”_ Sirius says in his ear. The volume of his comm is too loud. That, or James might just be feeling overstimulation since his brain just won’t shut up tonight.

“That I am.” James answers, landing on a rooftop and pausing to catch his breath for a minute. “Got anything for me?”

 _“Nah,”_ he says. _“Nothing popping up on the radar.”_

“How’s the search for Ugly going?”

 _“I have nothing in that department, either.”_ Sirius sighs. _“You think maybe he died? In that water?”_

James really wishes. “No way,” he says. He looks out at the city, still lively even though it’s so late at night. “He’s out there, somewhere. Waiting. And next time he strikes, we’re going to get our asses kicked.”

 _“Optimistic, aren’t you, Potter?”_ Lily’s voice cuts in.

“Realistic, more like, Evans.”

Lily snorts.

“But he isn’t dead.” James continues. He sighs. “You know he isn’t. If water is his power, and he fell directly into the water—”

 _“We don’t know the extent of his power.”_ Lily points out. _“Maybe he can control it—”_

“Exactly.” James cuts her off. “We _don’t_ know. There’s no way to know until we fight him again and see exactly what he’s capable of. For all we know, controlling water is just part of what he can do.”

 _“What, like he can control the elements?”_ Sirius asks, sounding incredulous. _“Wasn’t that a television show?”_

“He’s probably some kind of lab experiment.” James continues. He considers making the radioactive fish joke, but decides this is the wrong environment to do it in. “A mutation. Some kind of injection, some kind of tests, whatever. And—”

 _“Anyone can be anything through mutations.”_ Lily says darkly. The tone of her voice kind of scares the shit out of James.

It also gives him the feeling that she knows a thing or two about mutations.

“We just need to be prepared.” James says, following a moment of quiet. “Sirius, you’ve done a background check on his name already, haven’t you?”

 _“Duh,”_ says Sirius, a little upset. _“I’m not an idiot.”_

“Really? Could have fooled me.” he quips. He smiles slightly. “But no sign?”

_“Literally nothing. Before the attack in the Thames, this guy’s a ghost. Nonexistent.”_

_“And we can’t do facial recognition, because his face is obviously mutilated in some way.”_ Lily points out. Her voice sounds kind of off; James figures she’s probably swinging. She’s got to be, if she’s on comms. _“So James is right. We just...have to wait until he shows up again and fight him with everything we have.”_

“Woah, Sirius, can you cut that audio bit and put it into a ringtone for me?” James sits on the edge of the roof. He hears Lily scoff. “I want that. She just admitted to me being right. I need that permanently documented forever.”

 _“Idiot.”_ Lily mutters.

 _“Done and done, mate,”_ says Sirius. _“Man, I really wish we had, like, a superhero_ team _, you know?”_

_“Are you implying we’re not good enough, Black?”_

_“Shut up, Evans, you know what I mean.”_

Feet land on the roof James is sitting on. He turns and sees Lily, turquoise ballet slippers and all, lowering her hood as she makes her way towards him. “I do,” she says. James hears her in his ear and in front of him. “I just love taking the piss.”

 _“Whatever.”_ Sirius grumbles. _“Can you two handle yourselves for a while?”_

“I don’t know, man, that’s a pretty big responsibility.” James muses. Lily knocks her shoulder into his. “Yes, we can handle ourselves.”

 _“Okay.”_ he answers. _“Good. I’m going offline for a while. I’ll be back if anything major happens.”_

Lily pulls off her mask and sets it on the roof between her and James. “His voice gets really annoying after a while, y’know?”

James stares at her. “ _Evans._ We’re in public.”

She shrugs. This is very unlike her, to feel this comfortable. “No crime,” she says. “No one can see us up here. So take it off.”

“Demanding, aren’t you?” James pulls his mask off. The wind immediately ruffles his hair. “Ah, shit,” he says, as his vision immediately goes from great to absolute shit. “Left my glasses at home.”

“I always wondered how you did that.” Lily admits. He can’t see her face, but he can see her hair, so at least he knows her general presence. “Sirius put prescription glass in the eyes?”

“Yep.” James says. “I tried to wear my glasses in this, once. It was horrible. Got stabbed by some lowlife asshole because I couldn’t focus. Still have the scar, actually, but I forget where it is.”

Lily laughs. “Great power, huh?”

“Great responsibility.” James agrees.

“Have you ever thought about contact lenses?”

“Regrettably.” he hunches forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “I’m allergic.”

“Tragic.”

“I don’t really mind. I’m barely recognizable without my glasses, I’d reckon, so even if I’m de-masked in a fight, I can get away with low visibility and save my ass from getting recognized.”

“Dunno,” says Lily, very softly. James swivels his head toward her, but can only really make out blobs. Maybe her green eyes, if he squints hard enough. “With or without your glasses, you’re still James Potter.”

James clears his throat. His face feels warm. “I...thanks. You’ve just ruined my foolproof plan in case my identity ever comes into question.”

“Did I not just say I love taking the piss?”

“Thought you’d be done making fun of me by now.”

“I’ll never be done making fun of you.” Lily says solemnly. “Keep that in mind. You can’t escape it.”

“Love that.”

“It’s easy.” Lily draws her knees to her chest. She’s looking over at him, and hasn’t looked away in what feels like a particularly long time. “Would you rather I stop?”

“Nah.” James says. He runs his hand through his hair. “That’s our dynamic, you know? Fight crime in the nighttime, talk shit in the daytime.”

Lily looks away, then. “It may come as a surprise to you, but I really do consider you a good friend.”

James’s hand stills in his hair.

“I talk a lot of shit,” she says, very carefully. “I do. I don’t...I don’t genuinely trust a lot of people, James. I have Mary. Now I have you. And Sirius, really, but don’t tell him I said that. I don’t want to boost his ego.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.” James promises.

They’re quiet. He’s not really sure what else to say. He knows how guarded Lily is; she doesn’t have to tell him. He can read it whenever he looks at her. There’s a lot of things he can tell about Lily Evans without her having to say them.

“Please stop me if I’ve gone too far.” James says then, and Lily’s head turns so she’s looking at him again. “But...you said you have Mary. What about your…”

_Family. Parents._

“Right.” Lily takes a deep breath. She knows what he didn’t say. “Um, my dad died when I was six. Cancer. That’s when we left London, moved to Cokeworth. And, uh...well, my sister’s probably the worst person on the face of the earth, and Mum tends to always take her side. In everything. So I, uh, managed to convince Mum to let me move here, in with Mary, who I’ve known since before we moved in the first place. So Mum’s back in Cokeworth, still, with Petunia.”

“That’s, like, four hours from here.”

“I know.”

“And she just...let you go?”

“Well, when I first asked, I...gave her a lot of information, you know? Pretty much any question she’d have, I answered for her before she could even think about asking it.”

“Wow.” James blinks. “You really wanted to get out of there, huh?”

“Desperately.” Lily admits. She folds her hands on her lap. “Didn’t expect Mum to agree as easily as she did, though. Didn’t really give it a second thought. That was kind of shitty.”

“Maybe she just knew you could handle yourself,” he says softly.

James doesn’t have to have perfect vision to know she’s giving him a look. “I haven’t spoken to her since I moved here,” she tells him. “She hasn’t attempted to make contact. So. That’s my life.”

“Beats my theory about how you were from a different universe,” says James.

To his surprise, Lily lets out a laugh. “Did you really think that?”

“Nah,” he admits, and she laughs again. “But wouldn’t it have been cool?”

In response, she knocks her knee into his.

“In all seriousness, though...I know how it feels.” James admits. “Not—not the shit sister thing, or the lack of contact thing, but...my dad was killed in a robbery-turned-mugging. He was on the street as this guy ran out of the store, and...he got shot. Bled out on the sidewalk.”

“Holy shit.” Lily whispers.

“Yeah.” he clears his throat and looks out at the blur of the city lights. “I’d had these abilities for about two months, at that point. So I could have been doing something about crime, but I wasn’t, because I was fucking scared, and I lost my dad ‘cause of it.”

“That’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, but—”

“No, James, that’s _not_ your fault.” Lily shifts. Her whole body is angled toward him, hand reaching out to rest on his arm. “You couldn’t have known. And if you did something about your powers, _maybe_ you would have been able to save your dad. But you’ll never know, so you shouldn’t dwell on it.”

James takes a deep breath. He picks his mask and looks down at it, still aware of Lily’s hand warm on his arm. “I know,” he says quietly. “I just...feel like I could have done more.”

“It’s okay to feel that way.” Lily promises. Her thumb rubs back and forth on his forearm. “But don’t let it consume you.”

James looks over at her. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” she answers. James is pretty sure he can see a hint of a smile on her face. “What are friends for?”

\---

The next day, James greets Lily during free period with a peppermint hot chocolate.

“What’s this?” Lily smiles, taking the cup from his hands.

“Swung by the cafe.” James answers, as she lifts the cup to her mouth.

“Pun intended?”

“Obviously.”

Lily smiles around the cup.

“Anyway,” says James, “it’s a thank you, for last night.”

“You already thanked me.” she points out.

“Yeah, well...here’s another sign of my thanks.”

Lily’s smile widens. “Well,” she says, “much appreciated. Really. I was seriously considering breaking my caffeine boycott.”

“Absolutely not. That was a real addiction.”

“Oh, how well you know me.” Lily hums, sipping her hot chocolate again. “Can’t believe you remembered the peppermint.”

“You’re the only reason we put it on the permanent menu, after all,” he reminds her, following her lead as she walks down the corridor. “Of course I remember it. Plus, Sirius talked shit about it for the first week you were coming into the cafe.”

“Figures.” Lily says. “I’ll kick his ass later.”

James opens his mouth to say something, but something makes him stop. _Something._ He’s not really sure. The hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and then—

The ground shakes.

Everyone seems to stop. Lily turns to face James, eyes wide, her expression mirroring the one he feels like is on his face. The students around them start talking, very loudly, sounding panicked and worried. James, even if he’s not speaking, is kind of feeling the exact same way.

“We’ve got to get somewhere private.” Lily says. Her hand has closed around James’s wrist. She’s tugging on him, but he feels like he’s glued where he stands, heart sinking like an anchor that is weighing him in place. “ _James._ James, come _on—”_

Since...when did she start calling him James?

Something is nagging him in the back of his head. Something he should be remembering, but his brain is scrambling and he can’t remember. He can’t remember. He can’t _remember—_

Lily manages to tug on him _hard,_ pulling him into the nearest empty classroom. She sets her hot chocolate on the table and yanks her suit out of her backpack. “Get your ass moving, James, we don’t have time to lose.”

His body is moving before his brain can process it. His ears are ringing. Something is coming closer. A hit this big—he doesn’t know where Sirius is, or Remus, or Peter, but he hopes they’re somewhere safe—

He yanks his suit on and throws the mask over his head just as the building explodes around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all i'm working on the epilogue rn and i'm having such trouble with it lmaoooo
> 
> ANYWAY, [i made a sideblog for my ao3 stuff solely and its right here so click on this link](https://evotter.tumblr.com). also, if u follow me i'll take jily prompt requests to keep my writer's block away.
> 
> pls comment. i miss some of my ppl who comment on all my stuff!!! u know who u are. y'all the best. ur all the best. ily. i'll update in a few days.
> 
> ps. the spider bite would probably have cured jem's shit eyesight, but he wouldn't be james potter if he wasn't blind as a bad. sooooo i ignored that bit. bye.


	5. let go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> who do you call when you're by yourself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song for the summary & chapter title [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt2bA9xUJNI).

The dust takes a minute to settle.

James is flat on the ground, ears ringing, body stinging; he frantically pushes himself up, breathing hard, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

“Lily?” he croaks out. His throat feels like it’s on fire. “Shit—Ghost, are you—”

“I’m here.” she picks herself up from the rubble and throws her hood up. “I’m okay. I’m good. Are you—?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” James scrambles to his feet and holds his hand out. She takes it, using it as an anchor to pull herself to her feet. “We need to get as many people out of here as we possibly can.”

“Yeah.” Lily takes a deep breath, letting go of his hand. “Comms should work?”

“Sirius has his laptop,” he answers. “So as long as he’s okay, they should.”

“Okay.” she hesitates for a minute, like she wants to say something, but then shakes her head. “Be safe out there, Spider-Man.”

“You too, Ghost,” he answers. Lily nods once and is gone from the room, leaving him to follow in her footsteps.

He doesn’t really know what to take in from the scene in front of him: a thin layer of dust covering the entire floor. Half of the wall is gone, and something smells like smoke. This is the most destruction he’s seen in a very long time.

_“Are you guys here?”_ Sirius’s voice is quiet in his ear.

_“Sirius.”_ James breathes. “Thank God. Yeah, we’re here. You’re okay?”

_“Convinced Remus to skip class five minutes before it happened.”_

Typical. “And Pete?”

_“Hasn’t been here all day.”_

“Okay.” James exhales. “Good you’re all safe.”

_“I’m getting everyone off the second level.”_ Lily cuts in. _“I’m almost finished. As far as I know, nobody’s dead, but I haven’t gotten across the whole floor.”_

_“I’m pulling up street cameras now.”_ Sirius promises. _“Guys, I don’t think this was some kind of coincidental terrorist attacks.”_

James knows he’s right. He doesn’t believe in coincidences, anyway, and kind of hates himself for it. “Voldemort,” he says. “It’s gotta be.”

_“Are we ready for this?”_ Lily questions.

“We have to be.”

Lily sighs. _“Great,”_ she says. _“Love that for us.”_

“I’m going to get as many people out as I can from the bottom floor,” says James. “Sirius, keep us posted if you find whoever the hell did this, okay?”

_“On it.”_ Sirius answers. _“Be safe, you two. Really. I’ve never seen something like this before.”_

_“Neither have I.”_ Lily murmurs. _“Close to this, but—”_

That’s when James realizes he’s been running in water up to his ankles. His heart plummets into the pit of his stomach. _Shit._ He pushes part of the shattered ceiling off of a young student, helping them up and out of the building through the huge hole in the side. “Ghost,” he says, voice strained. “How close are you to getting everyone out up there?”

_“Almost done. Why? What’s going on?”_

“It’s— _fuck!”_ James falls flat on his back, water wrapping around his ankles so tight it’s cutting off circulation. He feels like the wind’s been knocked right out of him. He can hear both Sirius and Lily, shouting into his ear, but all he can process is a high-frequency pitch that feels like it’s splitting his head in two.

He stops abruptly and someone presses the heel of a boot directly into his ribcage. “Spider-Man.” The voice is like nails on a chalkboard, scraping of a knife. James decides Voldemort’s voice is as ugly as his face. “Nice to properly meet you.”

“You too,” croaks James, feeling like his tongue is absolutely too big for his mouth. “Did my web help fix that ugly mug you call a face?”

Voldemort sneers. He angles his boot deeper into James’s ribcage. “You’ve decided those are your last words, then?”

“Oh, yeah.” He sounds pathetic. He can barely breathe. His vision is spotty. “If I don’t go out in a comedic way, then did I really live?”

He brings his knee up with whatever strength he has left and kicks the mutant right between his legs. Voldemort crumples, face contorted with pain. “Really, mate,” continues James, gasping for air as he pulls himself onto his knees. “You left yourself vulnerable for that one. What kind of villain _are_ you? Never leave your bits out like that, eh?”

_“James.”_ Lily’s voice is chillingly quiet in his ear.

“I’m okay.” he breathes. “Voldemort’s here, though. I’ve got him on the first floor, if you can keep getting civilians out of here—”

_“James,”_ she repeats, so soft that he falls silent immediately. He realizes she’s using his name, his _first_ name, not his superhero name. _“James, I’ve got your mum.”_

James feels numb. “The fuck?” Sirius demands, speaking probably because he knows James can’t. “What is Euphemia doing there?”

_“I don’t know.”_ Lily clears her throat. _“She’s okay for the most part, just a little scratched up, but her leg’s bent funny and she can’t walk out on her own. Everyone else up here is out.”_

James does a quick scan of the floor; he can’t see any students inside the building. He prays they’re all out. He can’t really do much other than fight Voldemort at this moment. “Get her out of here.” he says, watching as Voldemort picks himself up from the ground. “I don’t see anyone on the first floor. I can handle Ugly over here.”

Turns out, kicking someone _that_ hard where the sun doesn’t shine really pisses them off.

He remembers how long it took for Lily’s bruises to heal from the water tendrils that had nearly suffocated her on the Thames. He wonders if his will take as long, if not longer, because every bit of his skin with water choking the life out of him _burns,_ and soon James finds that the screams filling his ears are his. Voldemort’s hand is curled into a fist, shaking angrily, smiling triumphantly as James claws at the water, desperate for air. His feet leave the ground, elevating him into the air. Time slows down.

_Duh._ He’s got fucking spider webs.

James reaches out with one hand and attaches a web to what’s left of the ceiling. The force sends him straight up, and the water drops from around his body for long enough that he can attach himself to the wall and crawl along it, fast enough that he’s out of Voldemort’s sight within seconds.

“We’ve got to let it collapse.” James rasps, taking a moment to catch his breath. “If I can get out as the building collapses, it’ll kill him. I hope.”

_“We can’t completely demolish our school.”_ Lily says, horrified.

_“Yeah, we can,”_ says Sirius helpfully.

“It’s already broken beyond repair.” James points out. “And probably minutes from falling on its own. Besides...I can’t hold him off for long. And I can’t electrocute the water again until I know you’re out safely. I’m sure he’s expecting that move, anyway. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a predictable superhero.”

Lily is quiet for a moment. Then, she says, _“Your mum says to just do it.”_

“No.” James snaps. “Not an option.”

_“Spider-Man—”_

“I said _no_ , Lily!” his voice rises in a panic. He doesn’t really care if anyone hears him at this point. “I won’t do it. I can’t sacrifice her.”

_“I can’t help you fight until I get her out.”_ Lily says. Her voice remains calm. Of course it does. She’s not the one with a parent—her _only_ parent—in the middle of a battle. _“And we’re moving, but we’re slow.”_

James squares his shoulders. The slosh of the water tells him that Voldemort is walking, slowly, probably to his exact location. “Then get her out,” he says. “I’ll hold him off for as long as I can.”

_“James—”_

He turns his comm down in his ear and leaps.

Most of the fighting is blur: water is everywhere, but James moves quick enough that it doesn’t have time to wrap itself around him. There are three pillars that he can still see, leveling out the building, keeping the second floor from crushing the first. He hears faint footsteps, slow but steady, coming down the north staircase. With any luck, Lily and his mother will be out of the building in five minutes.

Five minutes is all he needs.

“I’ll kill you both,” says Voldemort, voice icy as James swings across the ceiling. “You won’t stand a chance.”

Water shoots up right in front of James and hardens. In a panic, he drops, skidding across solid ice. He never really was good at ice skating; he slips, unable to keep his footing as he sails straight into the wall and slams against one of the pillars with a harsh crack.

That might have been his back breaking. It sure feels like it. But at least that’s one foundation down. Two to go.

“I’m sure you’d love to hear that I’ve got someone on the inside.” Voldemort continues, walking across the ice with no problem. “How does it feel, to know that someone in your life cares so little for your wellbeing that they were not only eager to give up your identity, but help me orchestrate attacks that would weaken you the most?”

Either the building has started to shake, or James’s body has. He can’t tell anymore. “What?”

“I’d tell you who it was, but you’ll be too dead to do anything about it at the end of the hour.”

James looks just past Voldemort and sees something that makes his heart soar: ice has wrapped itself around one of his two remaining pillars, leaving several cracks in it. It’s not sturdy. All he has to do is break the last one, judging by the way the school building has started to creak and groan like it’s on the brink of collapse. His back is still in excruciating pain, and he can barely lift his arm, but he does, turning his comm back up as he rolls out of the way of Voldemort.

“Ghost,” he pants, pain shooting up his arms as he pushes himself to his feet. “Are you out?”

_“Yeah.”_ Lily answers, breathless. _“I’m coming back in, I’m just setting her down.”_

“No.” James says quickly. “Stay out there. Don’t come in.”

_“What? That’s ridiculous—”_

“Listen to me.” he slips down the other side of the staircase, looking over his shoulder for Voldemort. “The building’s going to collapse.”

_“Then you need to get out of there.”_

“No time.” he groans. He’s not sure when it started, but his leg is bleeding. “If I run, so does Voldemort, and I can’t fight for much longer. All I have to do is distract him—”

_“Bullshit.”_ Lily snaps, but her voice trembles. _“I’m not letting you do this alone.”_

“You have to.”

_“You can’t tell me what to do, asshole.”_

James bites out a laugh. It makes his chest ache. “Just did,” he says. “Please, Evans.”

Her response is lost to him as something—someone—delivers a blow to the side of his head. James is sent sprawling across the floor, which is now water again, and he spits out water and blood as he staggers to his feet. Voldemort charges on him, black robes swirling, arm outstretched.

James dodges him at the last minute. He’s backed up against a wall, no escape, as Voldemort advances again, arms outstretched.

He’s going to die. Oh, shit, he’s going to die.

He screws his eyes shut and fires a web.

Voldemort laughs. _Laughs._ James opens his eyes, finding that his web has shot way past Voldemort, fastening onto something else. “You missed,” says the mutant, grinning triumphantly.

But he didn’t.

James grabs the strand of webbing with both arms and yanks as hard as he possibly can. He’s really glad he’s been paying attention to these different kind of webs. This one pulls him in like a yo-yo, and he keeps his grip on the web, feet flying in front of him, outstretched, ready to kick with all the force he has in his body—

His knees feel like they shatter to pieces as his feet collide with the wall and the entire building falls down on top of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT  
> (i am not good at writing these scenes thats why this is the shortest chapter but plz comment and pretend like i am talented)  
> (next chapter will be up in a couple days)  
> (ps: if u look back at the previous chapters, u'll notice that i changed some of the formatting to match how this 1 looks)


	6. scared of the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there's a line for tomorrow and that line's getting shorter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote 4 pages of this chapter before i felt hopeless and deleted it all. as a result, i stayed up until 3am instead, rewriting the chapter into what you’ll be reading below. i’m pretty satisfied with it. please enjoy.
> 
> song for the summary & chapter title [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCCB4W8AWCY).

“We interrupt this broadcast for a special report. Sad news, this evening: the hero known as Spider-Man has been presumed dead following the collapse of Hogwarts, the Sixth Form College. Reports have stated that the masked hero was fighting the same villain from the River Thames attack that occurred months earlier.”

_Breathe. Calm down. It’s going to be okay. Open your eyes._

“Construction has barely begun to clear the rubble on the school site. No bodies have been found as of now, but they’ve only scratched the surface of the decimation that was caused.”

_Take a deep breath. Sit up. Wake up. Get up. You have to get up._

“There has yet to be a comment from the faculty board on how they’ll be trying to continue the school year. We’ll continue to report more as we find out.”

_It’s going to be okay._

“Evans?” A pause. “Hey, Evans?” Silence. _“Lily.”_

She blinks.

And everything comes rushing back.

“Woah!” The hands on her arms are cool. Cold. Her skin feels feverishly hot. She’s not wearing the suit. Where is her suit? “Steady, Evans. You’re safe. You’re fine.”

Lily’s vision focuses. Her head is pounding; she feels like it’s being split into two. “Where am I?” she says. Her words come out slurred. There’s a sharp pinch in her left arm. Her right hand feels numb. There’s a steady beeping in the back of her mind.

Sirius Black’s pale and grim face looms over her. Despite the somber expression, his eyes are shining with relief. And tears. He’s crying.

Oh, God. Sirius Black is _crying._

_James._

“Where is he?” Lily demands. She feels like her mouth is full of cotton swabs.

Sirius’s hands move to her shoulders. “You’re in the hospital.” he says quietly. “James is…”

He doesn’t have to say it. He probably can’t say it.

_Gone._

“You showed up in the basement and fell down the stairs.” he continues. “I—Euphemia helped get you out of the suit. We took you here. You’re bruised, no internal bleeding—but, uh...you broke your wrist.”

That explains the numbness.

“She’s fine, too,” Sirius adds. He rakes his hand through his hair and Lily can see James, doing the exact same motion, flashing a grin at her. “In another room, otherwise she’d be here. Her leg is fractured, but not badly. It’ll heal soon.”

Her head is spinning like she’s on a playground roundabout. “Voldemort.”

“Dead.” Sirius answers. He sinks into the chair beside her bed. “Or so we think. He and James were...the only people inside when Hogwarts…”

_Collapsed._

James had told her to stay outside and she’d listened like a fucking _fool_ and now he’s _gone._

“How long—?”

“It’s only been a day.”

Lily tries to sit up fully but her lower back protests. She closes her eyes and really, _really_ hopes that when she opens them again, James will be in front of her, a dorky smile on his face, glasses askew and hair all over the place.

She opens her eyes and the first thing she sees is news footage of her school crumbling and her own spider persona being thrown back from the force of the destruction.

In response, she promptly vomits.

\---

“I’m sorry,” says Lily, hours later.

Sirius has not left her hospital room with the exception of going to visit Euphemia across the hallway. Lily hasn’t seen her, even though the hospital has allowed her to get out of her bed and walk around, following her post-consciousness check-over. Lily doesn’t really know what she would say to her. She’s pretty sure Euphemia must hate her.

It’s her fault. She’d been inches away from the building. If she’d tried harder, she could have saved him.

Lily could have saved James.

Sirius looks up from his phone tentatively. His expression is somber; he has tear-stains down his cheeks but hasn’t cried while Lily’s been awake. “Come off it, Evans,” he says gently. “Don’t—”

“If I could have traded places and gotten James out of there, I would have,” she adds, before he can say anything else. Lily’s voice is trembling. Her whole body is trembling. “God, you know I would have.”

“Any of us would have.” he meets her eyes. “It’s not your fault. Don’t think that.”

“I could have gotten in there in time.”

“You couldn’t have stopped that building from collapsing.” Sirius tells her. “You know that. I know that. You did all that you could. You saved everyone in that building, Evans.”

“Not everyone.”

“You saved _everyone.”_ His voice is firm. “Staying in there to keep Voldemort from hurting civilians was James’s decision and his alone. He knew what was going to happen. If you had gone in there, both of you would be dead.”

_Dead._

Lily says nothing.

“Euphemia doesn’t blame you, either,” he adds. Very gently, he puts his hand on Lily’s. “Because I know you were thinking that.”

She manages a small smile. “You know me too well.”

“James talked about you a lot.” Sirius says dismissively. “Too much. He knew how you think.”

 _Past-tense._ Right.

He clears his throat. “Get some rest,” he says. “I’m going to check on Mrs. P and then go home.”

“Yeah.” Lily exhales. “Okay. You sleep, too.”

“I’ll try.” he promises. Sirius stands up and leaves her room.

It takes a long time for Lily to fall asleep. She feels like her entire body is hyped up on caffeine, and when she tries to quiet her mind all she can feel is an irritating buzzing. When she finally falls asleep, though, her dreams are plagued with hazel eyes and a building falling on a superhero clad in red and blue.

\---

Lily wakes up to a dark room, a strange feeling, and a silhouette of a pudgy boy in the doorway.

“Peter,” says Lily, frowning slightly. “What are you doing here?”

“Wanted to make sure you were okay,” he says. He’s holding a couple of roses in his trembling hands. He sets them down beside her. “You meant a lot to James. I know he’d want us to keep...keep tabs on you, you know?”

“Oh.” she can’t stop staring at the flowers. “Right. Ah, thank you?”

Lily doesn’t really mean for it to come out as a question, but she’s rather confused about the whole encounter.

Peter Pettigrew gives her a tight smile and leaves her room.

\---

Lily talks to her mum for the first time since she moved and cries for the entire hour they’re on the phone.

She convinces her mother to stay in Cokeworth. She can handle herself out here, after all; Euphemia has immediately taken her under her wing and she has Mary and her parents, if she needs.

“I want you to come home,” says her mother, though her own tears, just before she hangs up the phone. “Please, Lily. I miss you being here. Petunia is moving out soon, so you won’t have to deal with her.”

Lily lets out a laugh.

“I have not been the best mother.” she adds, sniffling on the other end of the line. “I know that. I want to make up for that. Please think about it.”

“I will,” Lily promises. She means it.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Mum.”

But going home would mean hanging up the suit. Leaving London defenseless. Leaving behind Euphemia Potter, who now lives a life without her husband and her biological son. Leaving behind Sirius Black, with whom she has found a solid friend.

Leaving behind the memory of James Potter.

She doesn’t know if she can do that to him.

Sirius is waiting for her when she walks back to him, where he’s sitting in front of the computers. “Hey,” he says. “Listen to this.”

He presses the spacebar and audio fills the room, crackling and loud.

“How does it feel,” a voice says, and with a jolt Lily realizes that it’s Voldemort, “to know that someone in your life cares so little for your wellbeing that they were not only eager to give up your identity, but help me orchestrate attacks that would weaken you the most?”

This must be from the last time they’d fought him.

James’s voice is next, shocked and wrecked and so, _so_ familiar that it makes Lily’s heart ache. “What?”

Sirius presses the spacebar again and the audio pauses.

“Holy shit.” Lily says. It’s all she can say. “Play it again.”

He does.

“Someone on the inside.” Sirius says slowly. His chest rapidly rises and falls. “Voldemort’s had someone on the inside.”

“It...makes sense.” Lily hates to admit it, but it does. “The Thames incident was a coincidence, maybe, but...there are several sixth form schools all over London, and Voldemort just happens to choose the one James and I both go to?”

Sirius shakes his head. “So—”

“And Euphemia.” Lily points out. She taps her fingers along her now-fractured wrist (having super-healing abilities has never felt greater). “What did she say, about being at the school?”

“Someone had emailed her and asked her to come in. She did say she didn’t recognize the email address, though.”

“So.” Lily sits down across from him. Sirius rubs his eyes. “It wasn’t a coincidence that she was there?”

“One or the other.” Sirius realizes. “Save Euphemia or stop Voldemort.”

“So whoever his informant is knows that James is Spider-Man.”

“Oh, fuck.” he rubs his face again. “That’s...shit. We have to be sure.”

“How many people know?”

“Me,” he says. “His mum. Remus. You. Peter.”

Lily blinks. “Oh,” she says.

“What?” Sirius looks up at her alarmingly. “Who do you think it is?”

“Oh, well, I—I don’t have a clue, but there was this...weird thing, that happened, at the hospital.” Lily says hesitantly. She quickly retells the story of Peter visiting her in the room, how strange he’d acted and how he’d been shaking the whole time. How weird it’d been. How they’d never had a conversation before that day.

“That...that could be right.” he says slowly. He’s staring at the floor. “The day it happened, Pete wasn’t at school. I texted him but he never responded.”

Lily’s heart feels cold in her chest. She doesn’t know Peter that well, but she knows that he is one of James’s best friends. They’ve been friends since childhood. And if Peter is the one who…

“He doesn’t know my identity,” says Lily. “So Euphemia and Voldemort…”

“Was supposed to target James only.” Sirius realizes. “Euphemia was the distraction. You being there was maybe just a coincidence.”

“Maybe.” Lily agrees. “But there’s only one way to find out.”

“We have to be sure.” Sirius says. “Extremely sure. We can’t corner him unless we’re sure.”

“We don’t have another choice. We need to know what he knows.” She sits back in her chair, fingers closing over her wrist. “There’s...you know, what if there’s a chance that James is alive?”

Sirius looks at her through his fingers. “Lily,” he says warningly.

“Or Voldemort.” Lily says hurriedly. “We need to know if we’re still up against something.”

Sirius types something into his computer. A tracking map pops up, showing one small red dot pinging at a place that is almost too ironic to be true. “Suit up,” he says, standing up from his chair. “And web up. I’ll meet you there.”

\---

Peter Pettigrew stumbles out into the alley behind James Potter’s cafe and falls onto the ground face-first.

Sirius follows him out through the back door. He slams it shut behind him. Lily drops down from the roof, landing perfectly on her feet, managing to keep her sprained wrist from balancing her fall. Her spider eyes narrow in on the blonde boy on the ground and she advances on him.

“Peter Pettigrew,” she says, voice low and disguised.

“Ah, Interrogation Mode,” says Sirius, grinning. “Nice touch, Ghost.”

“What do you want?” Peter cries.

It’s very hard to believe that this chubby boy has been snitching to the person who is responsible for James’s death. But maybe it’s all a ruse. Lily doesn’t really know what to believe anymore. “Three days ago,” says Lily, crouching in front of him. “Where were you?”

“At—at school.”

“Bullshit.” she snaps. He flinches. “Where. Were. You.”

“Wasn’t feeling well.” he stammers. “Stayed home.”

Lily looks up to meet Sirius’s eyes. She’s not surprised to see anger burning his expression. “You’re a terrible liar, Pete,” says Sirius, very quietly.

Peter’s eyes have gone wide. He looks like a child instead of a legal adult. It’s almost enough to make Lily feel bad for him. “Sirius,” he whispers. “I didn’t mean to.”

“So it was you.” Sirius snarls. Lily raises a hand, ready to prevent him from doing something he’ll regret. “You told _Voldemort—”_

“He made me!” the boy wails, covering his face with his hands. “He—he came to me, he threatened me, he made me tell him who James was—”

“Do you know what I would have done?” Sirius interrupts, taking a step toward him. Peter scrambles back. “I would have let that bastard _kill_ me before I betrayed James. I would have died.”

“Sirius, please—”

“Because of you, James is _dead!”_

Lily fires a web before she can really think about it. Sirius’s raised fist slams back against the brick wall, stuck by her spider-web. “ _Ghost,”_ he snaps, and Lily is completely grateful that he’s remembered to say her superhero name despite how pissed he probably is. “What the fuck—”

“You can kick the shit out of him later.” Lily says dismissively. Peter is cowering, hands over his head. He’s probably sobbing. Lily considers taking a picture, just for the humiliation. But she doesn’t. Her blood is burning; her head is buzzing angrily. She’s furious, really, but she knows how to keep her cool in an interrogation. She kneels down in front of Peter and yanks his chin up with a gloved hand. “If you have any information on Voldemort’s whereabouts,” she says, ice cold, “I recommend you tell me now. Or I will sic Sirius on you.”

“He’ll kill me.” Peter whimpers.

“So he’s alive.” Sirius says triumphantly.

Peter’s face goes slack.

“You’re going to be in trouble whether you tell us or not.” Lily says. “But you’ll be in less trouble if you cooperate. And we’ll protect you,” she adds, when Peter opens his mouth.

“Debatable,” says Sirius.

“We _will.”_ Lily insists, glancing at him. “From Voldemort. But only if you tell us _everything_ you know. Tell us, Pettigrew. You know it’s the right thing to do.”

“Do it for James.” Sirius offers.

At his name, Peter’s expression changes. He removes his hands from his face and he moves himself into a sitting position, but he still looks wary of the two of them. “He is alive.” Peter says quietly.

“Where?” Lily demands.

He shakes his head. “Never tells me. He visits _me,_ not the other way around.”

“And James?”

“I don’t know.” Peter mumbles.

“Don’t _fucking_ lie to us!” Sirius tries to yank his arm off the wall.

“I don’t know!” he cries, louder this time. “I tried to ask! He wouldn’t tell me. I don’t know if James is alive or dead! That’s the truth, I swear! I _swear!”_

Is it possible for someone’s heart to sink and soar at the same time? Lily feels a little woozy. She looks at Sirius, then at Peter. “That’s all you know?”

“That’s all I know.” Peter promises, close to tears. “Please. That’s all I know. I promise.”

“And if Voldemort comes asking,” says Lily, staring at him, “you will not tell him that we had this conversation.”

“No.” he swears, holding his hands to his mouth. “No, I won’t say a word.”

“Good.” She looks at Sirius, who looks ready to kill. She fires solution right at his hand, and the webbing falls to the ground. “Do what you want,” she says. “But not too much. He still has a shift to finish, you know.”

“Wait.” Peter glances between them, frightened. “You’re—leaving me here? No, please, no—”

Lily scales the side of the wall and jumps onto the roof before she can change her mind.

\---

_Make it stop._

Lily wakes up with another splitting headache. She knows she can’t use regular painkillers because they won’t do what she wants them to.

_Please, make it stop. Please. I’ll do anything._

She’s got three texts from Sirius, basically explaining that he only had the strength to hit Peter once, and then had to leave because he knew it wouldn’t have been what James had wanted. She knows he’s as upset as he is; if Voldemort is alive, and James is not, Lily doesn’t know what she’s going to do.

They _have_ to find him. They need to find Voldemort and take him down. Even if James is gone, they have to finish this.

Lily shrugs her jacket on and goes for a walk. And just in case, to be safe, she throws her suit in a small bag and slings it over her shoulder.

It’s not cold out, but there’s a soft breeze that regrettably does nothing to soothe Lily’s headache. Her mind hasn’t shut up since the last time she saw James. It’s been buzzing like a hive and she can’t turn it off. She doesn’t know what to do. She’s never felt this badly before. The last time she’d felt buzzing remotely close to this was—

Oh.

_Oh._

Holy shit.

Lily can’t believe she didn’t think about it before. No _shit!_ Of course! She’s been so dumb. Probably the dumbest person on the planet.

Her fingers are shaking when she dials Sirius’s number. Her feet take her down the street, practically running, her mind running a mile a minute. The headache feels less painful and more like a stream of relief.

 _Buzzing._ James. _James, where are you?_

“Hey,” breathes Lily, into her receiver when Sirius’s phone goes to voicemail. “James is alive. I can feel it. I don’t know where he is but—but I just _know._ It’s my spidey-senses. Intuition. You might call me crazy, and maybe I’m being a little too optimistic, but I can feel it, Sirius, and we’re going to get him back. I know we’re going to get him back.”

She hangs up the phone and shoves it back in her pocket.

Lily keeps walking. She feels like the buzzing is getting stronger, not in a painful way, but in a sense of direction. It gets weaker when she turns a corner, so she backtracks and heads down the road. Takes a right. Then a left. Another right. Before Lily realizes it, she’s running, hurrying as fast as she can until all she can hear is buzzing in her ears and the pounding of her feet on the concrete underneath her.

Then she stops.

She’s standing in front of an old building that she’s never seen before in her life. She doesn’t recognize this part of London, but she can feel that this is the right place to be. Voldemort has to be here.

 _James_ has to be here.

Lily should leave. She knows that. She should find her way home, tell Sirius, figure out a plan, and come back here in a couple of days, metaphorical guns blazing. They should have a _plan_ before she goes barging into a creepy old building where a supervillain is holding James captive.

But she can’t leave. Not when she knows—just _knows_ —that James is so close. So Lily pulls her phone out again and sighs. Then, she sends her location to Sirius with a short message to let him know that she’s going in. He’ll probably kill her in the morning, if she’s not already dead.

She ducks into the nearest alley and changes into her suit. She webs her backpack to the brick wall and heads back to the entrance of the building.

Lily exhales. “Well...here goes nothing.”

She flips her hood up and enters the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	7. elevate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you're facing friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long!! hope this is all you wanted and more.
> 
> song for the summary & chapter title [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfrzuPfCFfs).

When James was seven years old, he’d fallen on the concrete sidewalk in his backyard and had cried for the rest of the day.

_It’s just a scratch, Jem,_ his mother had said, carefully wiping away the bits of blood and dirt as James howled on the kitchen counter. She’d put Star Wars bandaids over his scraped-up knee and had ruffled his hair good-naturedly, but James, the ever-dramatic young boy he was, still cried until he went to sleep that night.

It’s a story his mother likes to tell to pretty much anyone when she wants to embarrass James; she’d tell random guests at the cafe, occasional (brief) girlfriends who stopped round for tea, Professor McGonagall when she’d come round for student conferences. Anyone and everyone whom Euphemia thought would get a kick out of James’s suffering.

_Suffering,_ she’d say, with a snort of disbelief. _You milked the shit out of that injury and you know it._

_It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life,_ James would protest, to which she’d roll her eyes. He’d say this for years: even after Dad died, even after the Vulture kicked his ass, even after he’d been electrocuted by some dumbass with taser gloves.

But this.

_This_ is much worse.

\---

James comes to and all he can see is darkness. For a moment, he panics, afraid that he’s lost his sight, but then he realizes he’s only tied up to the chair in an unlit room that he’s been tied to for God knows how long. He takes a deep breath. Tries to go back to the last thing he can remember.

Voldemort. Pain. Screaming. Crying.

He feels like he’s been in this chair for decades. He can’t tell how many injuries he has: he’s probably shattered his knees (In hindsight, trying to have a dramatic flare was not the smartest idea in that situation). He’s _got_ to have some kind of head injury. His skin feels like it’s on fire. He can’t feel anything other than the rapid rise and fall of his chest, which hurts like a _bitch_ because James is very sure he’s either got cracked ribs or a punctured lung. Maybe both. His suit is torn in several places and he can taste blood in his mouth. He feels broken beyond repair.

This story certainly isn’t as amusing as poor seven-year-old James’s was.

Footsteps break him out of his daze. His hair stands on edge. There’s that buzzing again: the buzzing he’s been feeling ever since he first woke up in wherever he is. His body screams for him to fight back, but James is too tired to do anything. He’s not even sure he’d be able to walk, if he were able to stand up.

The footsteps get closer. He braces himself for whatever the hell comes next. Except...these footsteps sound lighter, quicker than Voldemort’s do. The bastard takes his time, taunting James, slowing down the blows to make the pain feel worse. These steps feel like someone running, hurrying, like time is running out.

His heart does a little relay race in his chest. Could it be…?

The footsteps cease, but James can tell someone else is in the room. He can hear their quick breathing, the hitch in their breath, and then a bright light makes him squeeze his eyes shut.

A gasp. _“James.”_

He knows that voice like the back of his hand. “Evans?”

“James!” Arms wind themselves around his torso. He wheezes, feeling like the wind’s been knocked out of him. Immediately, Lily recinds, her gloved hand brushing against his face. “Oh, thank _God,_ I knew you weren’t dead, I—”

“What are you doing here?” he croaks. James blinks his eyes open, realizing the light is from her phone flashlight. He doesn’t have his glasses, so he can barely see. But when his eyes adjust, Lily’s face is close enough to his that he can see her mask is pulled up above her eyes. “Evans, you have to get out of here. Voldemort—he’s—”

“Alive,” says Lily grimly. “I know.”

“He had—”

“An informant.” she supplies. “I know that too. That’s...well, that’s how I knew he was alive.”

He swallows. “So you know who it is.”

“Yeah.” Lily won’t meet his eyes. “We’ll talk about it later, once you’re safe and healing.”

James doesn’t like the sound of that. Lily moves fast, moving behind him; he can feel her fingers along his wrists, where he’s bound to the chair. “I don’t know how long he’s been out,” he says. “He could be back any minute.”

“Oh, I have no doubt.” Lily says, as the ropes on his wrists fall free.

“Is Sirius on the comms?”

She stills behind him. “Er, no,” she says reluctantly. “I left him a message, but...it’s just me. I was on a walk, and...well, I couldn’t leave.”

James smiles slightly. “You’re all I need,” he says.

Lily appears in front of him, cheeks pink. “Don’t get cheeky,” she warns, bending down to get at the ropes around his ankles. “Can you walk?”

“Dunno,” he says honestly. “Haven’t tried. I’m fairly sure my knees are shattered.”

Lily’s arm twists as she tries to untie the ropes and she lets out a hiss of pain, yanking her arm back. When James gapes at her, she explains, “I broke my wrist.”

“Where the fuck’s your cast?”

“It’s only fractured now. Sprained, probably. I heal fast, remember?”

James rolls his eyes. She pulls the rope off, sitting back to catch her breath for a minute. “I can’t believe you’d rush into a random abandoned building on the off chance I’d be here with a broken _wrist.”_

“Sprained.” Lily corrects dismissively. Then she meets his eyes. “And it wasn’t random. I...could feel it. Like the first time we met. Outside of our suits.”

James feels kind of warm all over. Lily stares at him for a moment and then stands up, offering him a hand silently. He takes it hesitantly, letting her use the majority of her strength to haul him up.

“Okay?” Lily says gently. She catches his arms when he wobbles a little bit. “Take a minute. You need it.”

“I—yeah.” James blinks. Her grip tightens on him. “Sorry, I just—haven’t walked in a while. Also, I’m blind. I don’t have my glasses.”

“I had no idea you needed glasses,” Lily teases. She looks up at him and something in her expression changes. “It’s okay. I’ll help you.”

He’s in a lot of pain, but he can feel it ebbing away as he looks at Lily. Their faces are very close. It’s probably cliche, but she really has been his spider in shining armor. Her eyes are shining, he realizes, with unshed tears, and he wonders exactly how horrible he’s got to look for her to cry.

“James.” Lily says, very softly.

But he knows. He’s knows what she’s going to say. And even though he doesn’t actually think he can stomach anything serious right now—in fact, he can’t really stomach _anything,_ since it feels like he could throw up at any moment—he would really, really like to kiss her in this moment.

So he lifts a hand and slides it across her cheek. Her eyelashes flutter. Lily keeps her grip on his arms but she lifts herself up on her toes, leaning closer, so close he can feel her breath on his mouth—

And then she yanks back.

James opens his eyes. Her blurry face looks like she’s a deer in the headlights, caught and terrified. “I’m sorry,” he says, a little desperately. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

But he can’t finish his sentence, because Lily pushes him down, her hand coming up behind his head to keep it from slamming against the floor. He hears a whirring sound, something high-pitched, and feels something cold graze the side of his face.

_Ice._ An ice pick.

Voldemort.

“Fuck.” Lily breathes. “James, stay down.”

“Are you kidding me?” he tries to stare at her, but her phone light has gone out, so he feels like he’s just staring into the darkness. He feels her weight leave his body. “No, I won’t let—”

“Stay _down_ so you don’t get killed.” she interrupts. “James, you are very badly injured.”

His webs are still intact, though. But she’s right; half of his suit is ripped. He doesn’t have a mask. Not that Voldemort doesn’t know his identity already.

He hears Lily pull her mask down. Then, suddenly, the lights flip on.

There’s nothing in the room except for James’s chair. Lily, standing, James, on the floor. A dark robed blob across the room. Voldemort. A sharp icicle in shattered pieces on the floor beside James.

“Ghost Spider.” Voldemort says, eyes flashing dangerously. “Come to die?”

“God,” says Lily, with a roll of her eyes. “ _Please_ try to at least sound intimidating.”

He lunges.

James can’t pay attention for long; he sees them attack each other, Lily seeming to fly through the air, Voldemort lashing out with water, two blurry figures circling each other. James can see tiny, shiny things shooting through the air; Voldemort is sending ice like bullets. James’s heart threatens to lurch from his chest when he tries to stand up himself; so he stays to the ground, trying to figure out how he can help.

If he doesn’t have a mask, he can’t access anything from his suit. Not to mention he can’t see anything past the edge of his own fucking nose. So he’s quite literally barely any help. Great.

“James, stay down!” Lily isn’t even looking at him but somehow she knows when he manages to get himself into a sitting position.

James groans. “Evans—”

“I mean it!” she jumps to the ceiling and scrambles away from Voldemort.

“I can help you!”

“You can barely stand on your own!”

James rolls his eyes. She’s not wrong, but he doesn’t want to admit it. She looks like she’s getting her ass kicked, though, even if all he can see is a misshapen blob. He can’t let that happen. He groans and pushes himself to his feet, just as Lily swings down on Voldemort and throws him to the ground.

She jumps to her feet. “Get out of here, James.”

“Are you kidding?” he ruffles his hair and pain shoots up his arm. “I’m not leaving you.”

“Now is _not_ the time to try and be heroic.”

“She’s right.” Voldemort laughs, picking himself up from the ground. “You can’t beat me. Or did you forget what happened last time you underestimated me?”

“God, you’re annoying.” James mutters, half to himself.

Lily faces James. “Get out of here and get help,” she tells him. “We don’t have— _fuck!”_

Something dark appears on the white of her sleeve. Blood. In her distraction, Voldemort has started winding water around her body, just like the first time they fought him, except he wastes no time in trying to kill her this time around. James can see it as it winds around her body, lifting her body into the air. The water tightens around her like a python, squeezing her, turning Lily’s skin pale and blue.

James panics. Really panics. He runs his hand through his hair again.

Then realizes, for the second encounter with Voldemort in a row, that there is water on the floor.

Is he really going to become a predictable superhero?

Lily would kill him. If she doesn’t die first. But it got rid of Voldemort the first time...and James knows it could happen again.

He scrambles onto his chair. Voldemort is so preoccupied with watching Lily get strangled that he doesn’t notice. He doesn’t notice Lily make eye contact with James and, despite James barely being able to see anything, watch Lily give him a slightly imperceptible nod.

He doesn’t notice James pray to _God_ that his webs are on taser mode and fires one right at Voldemort.

The hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up. James jumps up, latching himself to the ceiling, and when the electricity in the room fades, he swings from the ceiling and kicks Voldemort onto his back. The impact knocks him out completely.

“Bastard.” James says savagely. “Get the fuck out of London.”

“Well,” says Lily weakly from behind him, “guess I can cross being electrocuted off my list.”

James’s heart lurches. He crosses to her, extending his arm as she struggles to get up. Her hair smells singed. The gloves on her hands are smoking. He’s sure she’s got burns on the inside of her suit, to add to the many scars she already has, but at least she’s not unconscious, right?

“We did it.” James says softly.

She gives him a look. “I did it,” she says. “You fired a web with minimal effort.”

He gapes at her. “I can barely _see,_ you know. The accuracy of the web was fantastic, given the fact that I am almost legally blind.”

Lily smiles. She reaches up and brushes his hair away from his face. “You did great.” she amends. “You saved my life.”

“You saved mine.” he replies. Her smile widens.

“Let’s get you to the hospital.” Lily says softly. She lowers her hand from his face and James catches it in his own, squeezing her hand gently.

“Right back at you,” he says. And when they exit the building, the sun has risen, bringing a new day with one less villain for them to worry about.

\---

“We interrupt this broadcast for another special report. New video footage released by an anonymous source has revealed that Spider-Man was being held captive following the attacks orchestrated by the villain known as Voldemort. The video is untraceable, but it is new footage; as you can see, Spider-Man is taking the video himself, and announcing to the world that he is, in fact, alive.

“It has since been revealed that Voldemort had an accomplice. Peter Pettigrew, eighteen-year-old Hogwarts student, has been working with the villain since his first appearance. He has since been taken into custody and is awaiting final charges.

“Lastly, the police received an anonymous tip on Voldemort’s whereabouts. Upon raiding the building, authorities found evidence that Spider-Man was being held there, but there was no trace of Voldemort. The investigation will continue until the villain can be apprehended; it is safe to assume that he may still be at large.

“For the meantime, we owe our thanks to Spider-Man and Ghost Spider. Citizens all over the town have gathered to honor the web-slinging heroes who have saved our lives countless times. So wherever you are, thank you, Ghost Spider. And thank you, Spider-Man.”

His phone buzzes. _Rooftop._

He knows the one.

Lily is waiting there when James arrives clad in a brand new suit courtesy of Sirius. Hers is new, too, but it looks the exact same as always, turquoise ballet shoes and all; James’s is new shades of blue and red, and Sirius doesn’t stop talking about how proud of it he is.

James lets him talk about it, though. After all, Sirius was convinced James had died. So Sirius can have this one.

“Took you long enough.” Lily says, watching him as he lands on his feet. Her hood is up but her mask is off, tucked in the belt of her suit. The eyes watch James from across the roof.

“I’m still _healing,_ thanks.” James quips, pulling his mask off.

“Oh, we are not having the _who was more injured_ argument again.”

“No need to. Obviously it was me.”

Lily rolls her eyes. “You are a prat,” she says fondly. “Really and truly.”

“And yet you stick around.” James says, putting his glasses on. They sit on the edge of the rooftop, masks in hand.

“About that,” says Lily carefully, and his heart sinks.

“What?”

She looks over at him. “My mum called,” she says. “When I was in the hospital, before I found you. And...well, she asked me to come home.”

James tries to mask the surprise on his face. He fails miserably.

“Petunia’s moving out, she says.” Lily looks out at the city. “And she says she wants to try and be a better mum. Better late than never, you know? And I...I don’t know. I miss her a lot. We’ve been talking every day since then. I think she’s coming to London next week, to visit, but I think she’s expecting an answer by then.”

“Ah.” James’s throat feels dry. “Right.”

“Before I knew you were alive, I was thinking about it,” she admits. That doesn’t really make him feel any better. “I thought Voldemort was dead. And it would have left London defenseless, and I probably would have needed to hang up the suit, but...I was thinking about it, really. I...still am.”

James looks over at her. She doesn’t meet his eyes. Instead, he takes in her profile against the late sunset, wondering how many more rooftop nights they’ve got left together. What’s worse is what almost happened before they fought Voldemort for the last time. He doesn’t really want to talk about how they almost kissed and how he wishes they had.

“But then there’s you.”

James inhales.

“And, you know,” she says, blushing lightly. “Mary. Sirius.”

“Sirius, huh?”

“He’s growing on me.” Lily defends herself. James laughs, running his hand through his hair. “But really. I would love to go home, rest for a while, hang up the suit for a bit. Take a break. But then I’d be four hours away.”

“You have to do it if it’s what’s best for you.” James says seriously. He looks at her. “Obviously, I want you here, but...that’s your mum. Your home is in Cokeworth. If the roles were reversed...I’d want to go back.”

Lily meets his eyes and sighs. “I really like London.”

“I really like _you.”_ he counters.

“Wow.” she answers, another smile forming on her face. “Smooth.”

“I try.” James says. He looks down at the mask in his hands. “But we’ll figure it out, you know?”

Lily reaches over and puts her hand on his. “You know they didn’t find Voldemort’s body in that basement.”

James sighs. “I know.”

“So it...it might not be over. And I might not need to leave.”

“I can handle him if he’s not dead.” James promises. Lily gives him a look. “And if I can’t, I can call you, can’t I? If you do move I’m not going to stop talking to you, you know.”

“I know.” Lily says softly. She squeezes his hand. “I have a decision to make.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“It’s a really hard decision to make.”

“Yeah.” James says. He puts his arm around her. “I know.”

Lily leans her head on his shoulder. James really feels like he can’t get any rest from anything. He’s so exhausted; he has been since that spider bit him. Honestly, if she chooses to leave, he’s jealous; James would love to live a life without being a superhero. He wouldn’t have to worry about, well, almost dying.

He’s only eighteen and he’s worried about almost dying more times than an eighteen-year-old should.

But he doesn’t blame her. He’ll miss her like mad; he’s loved their partnership, loved having someone like him protecting London.

And he. Well. Really likes her.

“But,” says Lily quietly, pulling away so she can turn and face him. “I think...I think I’ve made it.”

His heart lurches.

“So,” James says, putting his elbows on his knees, mustering up the widest smile he can. “What’ll it be, Evans? Are you going home?”

Lily smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> epilogue is next. might take a while, since i have yet to finish it.  
> leave kind comments pls im in desperate need of distractions


	8. home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> say it out loud: are you ready for war?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is. the epilogue.
> 
> enjoy.
> 
> song for the summary & chapter title [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrBKxr309i4).

James really has done a lot for London, right? Like, he’s taken down supervillains. _Supervillains._ People that the police force could never actually take down.

Yet here he is, crawling across the ceiling of a _bank,_ because this is what he’s been reduced to yet again. Petty thefts. The press might as well just call him _Spider-Boy_ again, because that’s exactly how he’s feeling.

“Missed me!” he shouts, ducking out of the way of the guy’s gun. It’s not a normal gun, though; it’s definitely got some sort of otherworldly tech. It emits a purple light, which doesn’t explode when it hits the wall. Strange. James bets Sirius would love to get his hands on that. He considers taking it as a trophy once he’s kicked the asses of these bank robbers. “Really, did you not think this through? Did you not realize I’d be here? _Please_ tell me you’re smarter than that.”

Apparently they are, because when James tries to hop to the other side of the wall, he gets caught in the weird purple light.

His skin feels like taffy. Like he’s being pulled apart. “Woah,” he says, and isn’t that surprised to hear his voice distorted. “This is weird, man. What the hell is this?”

“Shut up,” says the second masked one, who is standing guard with a real gun as their third partner-in-crime tries to get at the money. “Insect.”

“Oh, I’m insulted.” James says, sniffing. “Really. You know, I’m kind of surprised you didn’t try to use that gun on me, right? Or do you not have the guts to kill someone?”

He stiffens and raises his gun.

Huh. Maybe James shouldn’t have said that.

James shuts his eyes and waits for the bullet, but it doesn’t come. Instead, he drops to the floor with a sickening thud, feeling all the air leave his body. It takes James a minute to breathe.

When he stands up, though, all three men are unconscious on the ground, and Lily Evans is holding the gun in one hand and the weird alien tech in the other.

“Would it kill you to stay alive?” she demands. James is pretty sure she’s rolling her eyes at him under her mask.

“Yes,” says James cheerfully. “It would, actually.”

“Are we kicking his ass when you guys get back here or what?” Sirius offers, in James’s ear.

Lily grins. James can tell by the way her mask pinches around her cheeks. “You really do know the way to my heart, Sirius Black.”

“Uh,” says James. “I am literally right here.”

“I’m aware,” says Lily, echoed by Sirius in his ear.

James pouts. “This is awful,” he says, narrowing his eyes at Lily. “The two of you. Being best friends. I feel severely left out.”

“I’ll kiss you later.” Lily promises. “Will that make you feel better?”

“No.”

“What if we both kiss you?” Sirius prompts.

James makes a disgusted noise and bends down to tie up the men with spider-webs. “You two are horrible,” he says disdainfully. “Have I mentioned that?”

“A lot of times.” Lily agrees. She eyes the tied-up men. “You could have done that better.”

He groans. “Give me a _break.”_

“Never.” she says. Smiles again. “C’mon, Spidey. Let’s get out of here.”

\---

The past year has been the best year of his life, really.

It’s been a year since Voldemort left London for good, which means five years since his dad’s passing, one year since Peter Pettigrew betrayed him, and one year since James went from a solo superhero to a crime-fighting duo.

It’s also been a year since he and Lily started dating. She’s also been talking shit about him the entire time, mostly because Sirius loves playing devil’s advocate. Once James and Lily completely healed from their injuries, Lily and Sirius had started hanging out of their own accord. Without James. Then they’d start talking about inside jokes. Then they were straight up making fun of James in front of him. Then again, he usually always got a kiss from Lily out of it, and it’s mostly repeated things that Sirius has been laughing about since childhood, so...not that bad.

“What the hell is that?” Sirius says, taking the weird alien thing from Lily’s hands.

“Dunno,” she answers.

“It made me feel like my skin was being stretched out.” James offers. “Also, distorted my voice. Definitely strange, but also really cool.”

“Can’t wait to dissect it.” Sirius says wistfully. He sets it down on the table. “You did great, by the way, Evans.”

“Why thank you, Sirius.” Lily pulls her mask off. James isn’t surprised to see that she’s beaming. “I do love saving my idiot boyfriend’s butt when he makes stupid decisions.”

“You guys are the worst.” James mutters, pulling his mask off and throwing it on the table beside Lily’s. “I’m gonna take a shower.”

“Can I join?”

James stares at her. “You just insulted me to my face.”

Lily shrugs.

He smiles a little bit. God, he’s in love with her. “Yeah, you can join.”

Sirius makes a face. “Disgusting,” he says. “Don’t be loud. I still have work to do. Someone’s trying to hack into my system and I’m real pissed about it.”

“Still?” James frowns. “I thought you fixed that.”

“Yeah, a _year_ ago.” he crosses his arms. “It started just after the Voldemort thing was over. I managed to rewire the system, and I thought that was it, but...it started back up a couple weeks ago.”

“Is it the same person?”

“I can’t tell.” Sirius admits. “Whatever it is, it’s almost like they’re trying to get a message across. Their firewalls are just as strong as mine are. It seems like they don’t want their identity getting discovered as much as I don’t want mine discovered.”

“Weird,” he muses, frowning at the computers. “Well, it better not be someone wanting our help. I’m still on hiatus from the big guns.”

“Prat.” Lily says affectionately, wrapping her arm around his waist. “If it _is_ someone,” she adds, directing her attention to Sirius, “let us know.”

“Of course.” Sirius promises. He sits in his chair and faces his computer. “Go take your shower. If you make too much noise I’ll cut the water line.”

“You don’t even know where the water line is.” James accuses.

“I’ll find it.”

Lily laughs. She tugs on James’s hand, rolling her eyes. “C’mon, Potter,” she says. “Let’s leave the brainiac to do what he does best.”

\---

Euphemia makes them dinner later that night and she hums to herself as she does it. James is extremely grateful for her, mostly because he still hasn’t mastered the art of cooking and Lily somehow managed to set fire to cereal the last time she’d attempted to be in the kitchen on her own. Sirius hasn’t returned from his computer, so Euphemia takes his plate down to him, leaving James with his girlfriend alone in his dining room.

“So how was Cokeworth?” he asks, eyeing her.

Lily grimaces. “It was fine,” she says. “Mum’s lovely. Petunia was visiting, though. She’s about to have a baby and she looks positively horrible. Turns out she still stops by all the time, so...I would have been miserable living there.”

He reaches across the table and squeezes her hand. “I’m glad you stayed,” he says seriously.

She beams. “Me too. Someone had to babysit you, and I don’t exactly trust Sirius to do it.”

“That’s insulting,” says James. “Truly. I cannot believe you just shoved my mother to the _side_ like that.”

“Euphemia needs a break.” Lily reminds him. “She’s been chasing you for nearly twenty years. She’s taking some well-earned time off from that.”

“Yeah, by babying Sirius.”

“He’s a little more manageable than you.”

“Say that to my face, you coward.”

Lily sighs. “I just did,” she says, looking thoroughly done.

James smiles and gives her hand another squeeze. “I love you,” he says softly. “Thanks for putting up with me.”

“You’re damn right,” says Lily, but she looks very touched. “I love you, too.”

“Damn right.” James echoes. She rolls her eyes at him but laces her fingers through his. James really is incredibly luck she puts him with him. They both know it. “You want to go get Fortescue’s? I have a feeling Mum’s going to be down there with Sirius for a while.”

“You read my mind.” Lily groans. “Leave a note. I fully intend on making out with you in the car so we don’t get walked in on again.”

“Oi,” protests James, standing up when she does. “It was _one time._ Sirius is emotionally and permanently scarred. He’s promised to always text first when he’s going to enter a room with just the two of us in it.”

“He _says_ that.” Lily points out. “But when does Sirius ever keep his promises?”

\---

“D’you think we should have brought some back for your mum and Sirius?” Lily wonders, looping her arm through James’s as they walk up the front steps.

“Nah,” says James, flashing her a grin. “Mum’s gone to bed by now, I’m sure, and Sirius is holed up in the basement, probably. Besides, it would have melted by now, so there’d be no point.”

Lily hums in agreement. “Maybe we should have made out _before_ we got to Fortescue’s.”

“Are you kidding me? I could still taste the strawberry ice cream on you. I wasn’t going to pass up that opportunity.”

She laughs. “You really are something else, James Potter.”

“And you—” James opens his front door and immediately falls silent. The hairs on his body immediately stand straight up.

Lily feels it too. He knows it. He feels her tense up beside him, her hand quickly finding its way into his. She squeezes his hand in two quick beats, taking a step in front of him as James closes the door behind them quietly. He wonders if he can get to his suit in time before whatever he feels attacks.

“Oh, good,” says a voice from the shadows. “You’re home.”

James glances at Lily. She looks as confused as he does; it’s too dark to see the figure in the dark of the living room. “I’m sorry,” says James, as he feels Lily slide a web-shooter onto her wrist, “who is speaking?”

“Pardon me.” The voice answers, clearing his throat. “I’m not being a very good houseguest, am I?”

“Can’t be a houseguest if no one living in the house has invited you in.” Lily replies.

The light switches on.

James’s eyes adjust quickly. Sitting in the chair is a man dressed in dark blue, his hair and beard a stark white. His eyes, hiding behind crescent-moon glasses, are twinkling in the dim lighting of the shitty lamp he’s got his hand around. He sits in the chair like he belongs there, like he’s been there for hours, like he knows exactly who James Potter and Lily Evans are.

“Come,” he says, standing up from his seat. “I’ve been waiting. I’d quite like some tea.”

James watches as he makes his way into the kitchen. “What,” he says, so quiet that only Lily can hear him, “the fuck?”

“I don’t know,” she murmurs back, watching the man carefully. “Have you ever seen him before?”

“No. You?”

“No.” Lily says. “Should we follow him?”

“You don’t really have a choice.” The man says helpfully from the kitchen. “Where do you keep your teabags?”

“I’m not giving you tea.” James replies loudly, pulling Lily into the kitchen. “Not until you tell me who the hell you are and what you’re doing here.”

“Understandably.” he smiles kindly at them from the counter, his hand reaching to pull open the exact cabinet where James’s mum keeps the tea. “My name is Albus. You could call me Director Dumbledore, if you’d like.”

“Director of what, exactly?” Lily inquires.

“S.H.I.E.L.D.,” he answers. “Stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.”

“And what exactly is it that you do?”

“We deal with the stuff that people like to keep in the dark.” Dumbledore offers. He pulls out a decaf tea bag. “Aliens. Mutants. People with powers. That sort of thing.”

Lily and James exchange a glance.

“Yes,” he says, pausing to look at them both in a way James really doesn’t like. “That includes the two of you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.” Lily says curtly.

“We’ve been keeping our eyes on you both.” Dumbledore continues, as if Lily hadn’t spoken. “Radioactive spiders are not the most insane thing we’ve encountered. You’ll find that others we’ve found have been enhanced by a super-serum or affected by Gamma radiation. And those are just the heroes we’ve allied with. Do you mind if I use a mug?”

“You’re going to use one anyway.” James says. Dumbledore gives a half-shrug and grabs one from the drying rack. “So you know who we are.”

“Spider-Man and Ghost Spider.” he agrees. “It was easy to figure out your alternate identities, once we located you specifically.”

He pours water into the cup from the faucet and stucks the mug in the microwave. “That’s not how you make tea,” says James, half-horrified.

“It’s how I make tea.” Dumbledore answers. He turns to face them, fiddling with the packet in his hands. “Voldemort was not at the crime scene when we arrived to it.”

“We know.” Lily says. She doesn’t sound happy.

“That means he’s still out there.”

“We’d really like to not think about it.” James says, eyeing him.

“We’d all prefer to ignore the worst, wouldn’t we?” Dumbledore hums. He pulls the mug out of the microwave and sets the tea bag inside of it. “Unfortunately, that’s not what our profession allows us to do, is it?”

“I’m on hiatus.” James answers immediately.

Dumbledore eyes him over his half-moon spectacles. “You stopped a bank robbery the other day.”

“On hiatus from the big uglies,” he amends.

The man hesitates. He sits at James’s kitchen table, swirling the bag around in the mug. “Our sources have found traces of Voldemort up in Scotland.”

“Good for you.”

“I’m sorry,” Lily interrupts, crossing the kitchen in two strides. She leans down, placing her elbows on the table across from Dumbledore. Her hair falls a little bit into her eyes. James itches to reach out and move it, but he feels like this really isn’t the right moment. “But what exactly is it that you’re here for?”

“I’d like to talk to you,” says Dumbledore, setting his mug aside, lacing his fingers in front of him on the table, “about the Avengers Initiative.”

 

 

 

_SPIDER-MAN AND GHOST SPIDER WILL RETURN._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as you can tell, i left the option for a sequel. it’d be just a one-shot — consisting of the avengers team up. i’ll give you a hint, if you’re interested: remus is on the team.
> 
> leave a comment below to let me know if you’d like a sequel, and whose POV you'd like it to be in. if the reception is positive, i'll try to whip something up and post it within the week. 
> 
> thank you all for coming along with me on this journey. it means more to me than you know. if you're interested in reading other jily things, and you haven't checked out my other stuff already, feel free to explore, or follow me on tumblr [here](https://evotter.tumblr.com).


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